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This document outlines the strategic role of human resource management (HRM) in recruitment, training, and job design to ensure organizational success. It discusses various strategies such as cost leadership, differentiation, and niche focus, as well as job design approaches including job rotation, enlargement, and enrichment. Additionally, it emphasizes the importance of effective employee selection systems and the need for HR managers to continuously adapt to changing job requirements and maintain competitive advantages.

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Running head: STRATEGY, PLANNING, AND SELECTION 1 STRATEGY, PLANNING, AND SELECTION 10 Strategy, Planning, and Selection STUENT NAME PROFESSOR COURSE# DATE Introduction As a director-level, Human Resource (HR) manager for the best- in-class “Holman Incorporation Company” this proposal will provide guidance and clarity regarding the current interview process regarding the strategy, planning and selection of new
hires for the company. As a director-level HR manager, the aim is to build and sustain a competitive and profitable organization. Therefore, the focus as an HR manager is to emphasize on personnel, systems, and policies. They determine the benefits enjoyed by the workers in the firm, manage the recruitment process, development, and training of the new hires (Noe, Hollenbeck, Gerhart, & Wright, 2008). An additional focus for an HR manager is ensuring the company can achieve success utilizing highly qualified personnel. HR professionals organize the human capital for a specific firm and focus on the implementation of processes and policies within the firm (Noe et al., 2017). Strategies of the HRM Cost Leadership An HR manager should ensure that all operations within the organization are performed at the lowest cost possible. The production cost for goods or services within an organization should be reduced as much as possible. However, despite the reduction in production costs, the products may be provided to the customers at favorable and profitable prices. Thus, increasing sales and buffering organizational gains. In some cases, they may opt to keep costs low to ensure they maintain a competitive edge over the others in the market. Charging better rates or similar pricing for products as competitors implies that the profit margin of the firm will improve, whereas the competitors gain limited income/profit depending on their production cost incurred for products. However, things can be tricky if targeted customers question the low price of a given product compared to those of its competitors. Some people may even consider the goods and services as sub-standard, assume that the products are not reliable or legit and may not buy them. Thus, before considering this strategy, HR managers should be aware of the pros and cons of the idea (Noe et al., 2017). Therefore, HR managers should advise the organizational leadership on the proper measures to take when managing changes to avoid activities that may reduce
profit for the company. Differentiation In this strategy, a firm puts in place measures to create an impression of difference in the mind of the potential consumer concerning the services and goods of a given organization. The customer is made to believe that the products are superior compared to those produced by other organizations. The feature of a particular product should be striking to all potential consumer. Potential buyers can identify these items quickly and perceive value each time they sight the logos and description of the products (Lussier & Hendon, 2019). For instance, Apple and Coca-Cola products are renowned all over the world, and customers consider their products to be of high quality. Product names should be strategically considered for easier identification and distinction to stand out from competitors’ products. Customers are willing to pay higher prices for products that they believe to be superior compared to those of the competitors. As an HR manager, differentiation may prove as a more viable option compared to the cost leadership. If strategically presented, differentiation can lead to continued success within an organization. However, inappropriate planning will decline any progress if the products appear as similar products being produced and made available in the industry. The perception of the customers about specific products can be changed without significantly changing the features as they can be persuaded that the products have what they desire and do not differentiate. Thus, assisting the sales and profit margins of the organization. Niche or Focus This strategy involves focusing on a given portion of the potential buyers within the market. The focus could be on an individual product line, regional market, or buyer group. After a particular section of the market is identified, the organization may then decide on a strategy to adopt either the cost leadership or differentiation. With acquiring the right approach, an organization can make massive gains in particular regions.
Before a firm can focus on the global market, they have to conquer the local market and ensure that its products are renowned in the immediate area (Noe et al., 2017). Partaking in different strategies and approaches, HR managers may select, recruit, interact, and evaluate the employees depending on the policy used within the organization. The competitors, objectives, and goals of the organization determine how the organization will operate. Human resource managers determine the personnel and required skillsets the organization will need to hire based on the goals and objectives of the organization. Besides, they should make arrangements for the measures to be used for maintaining the workers who are aware of the companies' targets (Lussier & Hendon, 2019). These employees are a vital part of the organization, and keeping them would save tremendously on the cost of hiring and training new employees. Therefore, the HR managers should be fully aware of the demands in the market so that they can enlighten management on the necessary strategies and the roles required of them. It is also the role of the HR managers to ensure that the right employees are hired in the organization with the motive to achieve the mission and purpose of the company at all times (Huselid, 2015). Job Design Approaches Every job design procedure composes of two approaches – complexity and impact. The complexity of a job design involves the decision-making ability and involvement of employees in multiple tasks (Lussier & Hendon, 2019). The impact dimension consists of leadership skills, rewards systems, working conditions, customer needs, team norms, and composition. Among the standard job design measures include: Job rotation Employees are assigned tasks across many departments throughout the organization to reduce complacency, boredom, and also to ensure they gain and maintain the skills required to properly function. As a result, an employee may develop skills to work in various departments throughout the organization. It
is advantageous to management for employees to obtain a wide range of skills to assist with scheduling, vacancies, and adopting changes. However, employees may not entirely favor this system due to insecurities, the scare of being replaceable, or job security within the workplace. Random rotation of the workers also disrupts the working, and thus, the employees cannot concentrate on a particular task (Lussier & Hendon, 2019). Job Engineering Job engineering involves setting the methods to use, the workflow of the employees, worker's layout, machines, and personnel. Job design procedures are determined based on time and motion. The method of operations is set based on the action started with, and the employees involved in each of the processes. However, employees should be aware of their required tasks; they must have the essential skills to ensure they perform the job adequately. Job Enlargement Organizations may require increased tasking to be performed by employees, in return, presenting employees with more responsibilities. For instance, the duties of an employee in the automobile industry are increased to include the roles of greasing, changing oil, and greasing. However, in this illustration, the tasks involved in the job enlargement are interrelated as opposed to the job rotation, where the worker performs different procedures within a different department (Huselid, 2015). Thus, the work becomes more advanced and exciting to the worker. Job Enrichment It merely implies adding motivation factors for production and performance efforts to be afforded to present better rewards to employees. Employees are given more power to make decisions, plan, and control the operations. Employees enjoy a better feedback system where their queries are addressed (Hamel,
2008). Furthermore, employees may be presented the freedom to schedule his/her work based on the operations they are required to perform. With job enrichment, the procedure aims for improving personal satisfaction and efficiency (Lussier & Hendon, 2019). The responsibility of employees may increase, despite the freedoms bestowed to them, the production curve must be maintained, and thus, they have no room for failures. Recruitment Process When it comes to recruitment, organizations must incorporate the cost of hiring and training new employees. Therefore, HR managers within the organization must budget the expenses involved in hiring employees by determining the potential future demands for labor in the company. HR managers should provide the job specifications and description in detail to attract the most qualified personnel for the position. However, when there is an abundance of applicants submitting applications for a specific job, that will require many resources to sort through applicants. Hence the reason for a thorough description of the available position. Among the common challenges that firms face when recruiting new employees to include: Having the Best Candidates Acquiring the best candidates begins by defining the requirements for the available position, as well as the roles and responsibilities. The major challenge that the company may face is attracting the right applicants with the necessary qualifications. It is evident that many people are in search of jobs in different places across the world, but the skills they submit may not be befitting for the available position (Rosenzweig & Nohria, 1994). Therefore, the firm should also provide other requirements they consider as an added advantage for the applicants (Lussier & Hendon, 2019). For instance, pay, travel if required, technical skills, education level, and background checks, etc. Questionnaires, if necessary, during the application process, should be precise and specific such that the possibility of providing a response that is out of place is eliminated.
Speed of Hiring Each time a vacancy occurs within an organization, it implies that they are facing added costs and delays in the operation. Thus, they are determined to hire a new employee as fast as possible to save on extra expenditures (Lussier & Hendon, 2019). However, depending on the industry, the hiring process may take months, consequently placing much weight on the shoulders of the hiring and recruiting teams. The length of time spent on gaining new employees can result in a lack of qualified individuals but in some cases may result from the lengthy and tedious procedures involve. Therefore, it is the responsibility of the HR managers to oversee the operations and advise management on the execution of the proper recruiting process. To speed up the hiring process, the organization should advertise availabilities on multiple platforms, for example, social media, newspapers, flyers, etc. Employee Selection System The worst that can happen in an organization is to hire the wrong person for a particular job based on fraudulent procedures or information. Therefore, an organization implementing the correct methods for selecting the best-fitted individuals for a position must ensure processes are continuously revised and maintained for accuracy in the selection of new employees. As positions evolve in your organizations, so should the selection processes (Tafero, 2012). Amongst essential aspects, organizations must understand the nature of the job for which they intend to have new employees (Tafero, 2012). Performance measures also assist with ensuring only the personnel who qualify for the job are hired. All individuals that have a role in managing the welfare of workers and retaining them should receive formal training on the necessities (Tafero, 2012). In most of the recruitments, interviews are involved, which requires interviewers to be knowledgeable of all requirements and qualifications. Interviewer training can be done using an effective online interviewer training program (Tafero, 2012).
Conclusion Regarding Human Resource Management (HRM), personnel must have the necessary skills and knowledge to make the decisions involved. HRM is simply a strategic approach used to effectively manage people within an organization for the competitive advantage of the firm. Strategies are put in place to ensure maximum performance of every employee within an organization. Changes presented within an organization are orchestrated by HR managers; however, the duties and responsibilities of an HR manager may vary based on the operation of a particular organization. References Hamel, G. (2008). The future of management. Human Resource Management International Digest, 16(6). Huselid, M. A. (2015). The Impact of Human Resource Management Practices on Turnover, Productivity, and Corporate Financial Performance. Academy of Management Journal, 38(3), 635-672. Lussier, R. N., & Hendon, J. R. (2019). Human resource management functions, applications, and skill development. Los Angeles: SAGE. Noe, R. A., Hollenbeck, J. R., Gerhart, B., & Wright, P. M. (2017). Human Resource Management: Gaining a Competitive Advantage. New York, NY: Mcgraw-Hill Education. Rosenzweig, P. M., & Nohria, N. (1994). Influences on Human Resource Management Practices in Multinational Corporations. Journal of International Business Studies, 25(2), 229-251. doi:10.1057/palgrave.jibs.8490199 Tafero, T. (2012, January 3). 5 Tips for Designing an Effective Employee Selection System. Retrieved July 21, 2019, from https://blog.psionline.com/talent/bid/147051/5-Tips-for- Designing-an-Effective-Employee-Selection-System
Reference: Lussier, R. N., & Hendon, J. R. (2019). Human resource management functions, applications, and skill development. Los Angeles: SAGE. 2. List and briefly discuss at least three (3) types or methods of training that can be used for employee training. Of the 3, which would you select to train the retail employees, and why? Be specific. Learning Styles As a last point in our review of the learning process, we need to briefly discuss various learning styles that people prefer to use. There are more than 70 learning style inventories available in the psychology literature and even some questionnaires that track learning style on the Internet.29 There is, however, disagreement concerning whether or not we should use preferred learning styles in designing training, including work- related training. Some of the recent research, including a study done by Dr. Beth Rogowsky and her colleagues, says that although we do have preferred learning styles, there is no evidence that receiving instruction in that preferred style allows us to learn any better than receiving instruction in another style.30 Others argue, though, that there is evidence that we learn better using individual preferred learning styles, if for no other reason than we are more comfortable with our preferred style.31,32 Despite the disagreement, it pays us to at least understand the issue of individual learning styles because there is no evidence that training using preferred learning styles harm the learning environment, and using individual preferred learning style may even help the trainee learn better. HRM training and development experts might want to continue to review this research over the next several years to see how it ultimately affects student learning though. Fleming learning styles One of the common learning style inventories, by Neil Fleming, provides three primary learner options. These three options
are visual, auditory, and tactile learning.33 As you would think, visual learners prefer to have material provided in a visual format such as graphs and charts. Auditory learners, on the other hand, generally prefer to learn information based on hearing that information. Auditory learners tend to perform best in a historical classroom setting where the teacher stands in front of the class and teaches while the students passively listen. Finally, tactile learners prefer to learn by doing. Tactile learners want to physically perform a task in order to learn. Most of us use a mix of all three of the major learning styles. Therefore, a trainer should take each of the styles into account when creating a training program. You should realize that we provide multiple tactile-learning application and skill-building opportunities in this book. Which of the three options do you prefer when learning something? Kolb learning styles A more complex learning style inventory was developed by David Kolb.34 Kolb’s model is probably the most accepted of the learning style models in use today.35 To determine your preferred learning style, complete Self-Assessment 7-1. Design and Delivery of Training Recall that back in Chapter 1, we identified four important HRM skills: technical, human relations, conceptual and design (decision making), and business skills. Essentially, all of the training methods are used to develop specific skills that can be classified into one of these four skills categories. Once we have completed our needs assessment and selected how we plan to shape behavior, we are ready to complete step 3 of the training process: designing the training by selecting training methods and then delivering the training. So in this section, we will present which training methods to use based on which types of skills we are developing. Exhibit 7-3 presents the type of skills, the training methods appropriate for developing each skill, and descriptions of the training methods. LO 7-4 Discuss each of the major training delivery types.
Before we actually conduct the training, in step 4, the HR department or other trainers also have to select the types of training delivery. The choice will depend to some extent on what information is being transferred, as well as on the options that are available to the particular organization. We also need to look at the best type of training to use in order to maximize transfer of knowledge while minimizing the cost of the training process. Each of the four training types has advantages and disadvantages that have to be understood to assign the correct option to a specific type of training program. In the next sections, we discuss our four options: on-the-job, classroom, distance, and simulation training. Work Application 7-10 Identify and describe the training method(s) used to train and develop you for a job you have or have had. On-the-Job Training (OJT) On-the-job training (OJT) is done at the work site with the resources the employee uses to perform the job. The manager, or an employee selected by the manager, usually conducts the training one-on-one with the trainee. Because of its proven record of success, job instructional training (JIT)—a specific type of on-the-job training—is a popular training type used worldwide. 7-3 Applying The Concept Training Methods For each of the training situations below, identify the most appropriate training method. Use the letters a through j from Exhibit 7-3 as your answers. · ____ 11. You want your customer service staff to do a better job of handling customer complaints. · ____ 12. Your large department has a high turnover rate, and new employees need to learn several rules and regulations to perform their jobs. · ____ 13. You need your new employees to learn how to handle the typical daily problems they will face on the job.
· ____ 14. You need an employee to conduct an Internet search to find out more about a new product you want to buy for the department; you want a special report. · ____ 15. You want employees to be able to do each other’s job when they take vacations. · ____ 16. You want to improve your employees’ ability to sell products to customers in the store so that customers don’t end up leaving and buying the products online. · ____ 17. You need to prepare middle managers to advance to upper-level managers. You are considering having them run a simulated company getting quarterly results. Model 7-1 Job Instructional Training Steps Job Instructional Training (JIT) JIT has four steps, presented in Model 7-1 and described here. SHRM L:6 On-the-Job Training (OJT) Step 1: Preparation of the trainee Put the trainee at ease as you create interest in the job and encourage questions. Explain the task objectives and quantity and quality requirements, and discuss their importance. Step 2: Presentation of the task by the trainer Perform the task yourself slowly, explaining each step several times. Once the trainee seems to have the steps memorized, have the trainee explain each step as you perform the task. Prepare a written list of the steps in complex tasks and give a copy to the trainee. Step 3: Performance of the task by the trainee Have the trainee perform the task slowly while explaining each step. Correct any errors and be willing to help the trainee perform any difficult steps. Continue until the employee can perform the task proficiently. Step 4: Follow-up Tell the trainee who is available to provide help with any questions or problems. Gradually give the trainee more
autonomy. Begin by checking quality and quantity frequently; then decrease the amount of checking based on the trainee’s skill level. Watch the trainee perform the task and be sure to correct any errors or faulty work procedures before they become habits. Be patient and encouraging. Even though OJT is fairly expensive on a per-person basis, many organizations still use it heavily because of the fact that it works very well. See Exhibit 7-4 for the advantages and disadvantages of OJT. Employees are often given on-the-job training, especially in small businesses. John Lund/Marc Romanelli Classroom Training Our second training option is classroom training. Classroom training is also a common form of training in organizations. To accomplish classroom training, the organization will create a training course—including content, instruction methods, lesson plans, and instructor materials—and provide all these materials to a qualified instructor who will teach the class. Classroom training is generally very good for consistently transferring general knowledge or theories about a topic to a large number of people. It is generally not very good for teaching specific hands-on skills because of the passive nature of learning in a classroom. However, it is effective when using the same equipment that is used on the job. For example, many large banks have to train lots of tellers, and they conduct teller training in a classroom setting at headquarters, using an expert trainer so that the employees can go to the bank and actually begin work without any further trainingat the branch. Let’s do a quick review of some of the advantages and disadvantages of classroom training in Exhibit 7-5. Distance or E-Learning
Our third option is some form of distance learning—also called e-learning—in either a synchronous or an asynchronous format. Synchronous distance learning occurs when all of the trainees sign in to a particular Learning Management System (LMS) such as Blackboard or Moodle, or a corporate LMS, where their instructor then interacts with them and teaches the topics for the day. In contrast, asynchronous distance learning is a process in which the student can sign in to the training site at any point in time, and materials are available for their studies. The instructor may or may not be online at the same time as the student, but there’s no dedicated connection between the two for the purpose of teaching the information. In many cases today, the student does not have to work through an LMS. They can learn using any number of free or low-cost apps for training in just about any field. Distance learning, similar to classroom training, is valuable for teaching basic concepts and providing general information on the topic. There’s typically even less interaction between an instructor and trainees in this form than in classroom training. Let’s analyze some of the advantages and disadvantages of distance learning in Exhibit 7-6. Self-directed learning is a specific kind of distance learning. In self-directed learning, individuals go completely at their own pace, and they are able to study whatever aspects of the topic they think they need to study to be successful while leaving other parts of the training uncompleted. Massively Open Online Courses, or MOOCs, are primarily self-directed learning. Self- directed training tends to have all of the potential advantages and disadvantages of other forms of distance learning. The most significant issue in self-directed learning tends to be the fact that if individuals are not motivated to learn on their own, they will be unsuccessful because nobody else is going to follow their progress and push them to complete the training.
Reference: Lussier, R. N., & Hendon, J. R. (2019). Human resource management functions, applications, and skill development. Los Angeles: SAGE. 1. Critically analyze and discuss any researched (web or textbook) training process model you may consider for use in developing employees (here’s an idea: https://educationaltechnology.net/the-addie-model- instructional-design/ or exhibit 7-1, page 230 in the text book). Then, identify and discuss some possible challenges that might be faced in implementing a new training process in the company. TrainingSHRM L:11 The Role of Training in Succession Planning Many 21st century organizations have rigorous development programs that include job rotation to various departments within the organization, classroom and on-the-job training, assigned mentors, and many other programs–all of which are designed to train employees and develop their capabilities for future use within the firm. Organizations that neglect succession processes and employee development can find themselves at a competitive disadvantage when senior personnel leave the firm through either retirement or resignation. It is critical that HR lead the process of planning for succession and employee development. Although in this chapter we will focus more on training than development (there are five major sections explaining training, followed by one section on employee development), both are important to the organization over the long term. The Training Process and Needs Assessment How are we going to go about training our employees? How do we know who needs what training, in what forms, and at what point? How do we determine whether or not the employee is ready and willing to participate in the training? Finally, how do
we know that the training was effective? In order to answer these questions, we have to plan our training processes very carefully. We need to look at what’s currently going on in the organization and how that differs from what needs to happen in the future to accomplish our strategic business goals. So training and development are another set of strategic HRM tasks. Once we do this, we can analyze the types of training that will be necessary to build new knowledge, skills, and abilities for our workforce. Steps in the Training Process This chapter is primarily organized to follow the steps in the training process. Let’s take a look at how we go through the training process in Exhibit 7-1. We’ll follow that up with a brief discussion of the steps and then provide more detail throughout the chapter. Step 1: Assessing needs We conduct a needs assessment to determine what training is necessary to improve performance. We will discuss this step in this section. Exhibit 7-1 The Training Process Step 2: Selecting how to shape behavior We select a method of shaping employee behavior based on learning theories so that we can change employee behavior to improve performance. We will discuss this step in this chapter’s section “Learning and Shaping Behavior.” Step 3: Designing training We design the training and development based on the needs assessment. We must determine which training methods we will use to shape employee behavior. We discuss this step in this chapter’s section “Design and Delivery of Training.” Step 4: Delivering training Before we actually conduct the training and development, we must select the delivery method. We also discuss the delivery
options in the section “Design and Delivery of Training.” Step 5: Assessing training After we complete the training, our last step is to assess how effective the training was at developing the needed skills. We do this by determining our success at shaping behavior. We discuss this step in this chapter’s section “Assessing Training.” SHRM Q:4 Equipping the Organization for Present and Future Talent Needs Interrelationship of the Training Process Steps Note in Exhibit 7-1 that each of steps 2, 3, 4, and 5 has a double-headed arrow; this is because all the steps are so closely related and based on each other that they are commonly planned together before actually delivering the training. In other words, you are constantly thinking ahead and behind your current step in the training process. If the assessment of the training reveals that the behavior has not been shaped (changed) as needed, we may have to go back to step 1 and start the training process again. SHRM E:5, L:1 Needs Assessment Needs Assessment The first major step in the training process, and probably one of the most important, is the needs assessment. A needs assessmentis the process of analyzing the difference between what is currently occurring within a job or jobs and what is required—either now or in the future—based on the organization’s operations and strategic goals. If a needs assessment is not done correctly, a training course may be poorly designed, or it may cover the wrong information. The wrong employees may be asked to participate in the training, or they may not yet be capable of absorbing the information in the training because of a lack of a knowledge base or skill set. We may end up creating a training program that’s unnecessary, or we may fail to determine that an issue is based on poor
performance rather than lack of knowledge. These are significant issues that we can avoid if we correctly go through the process of a needs assessment. Needs assessment The process of analyzing the difference between what is currently occurring within a job or jobs and what is required— either now or in the future—based on the organization’s operations and strategic goals Similar to those good physicians and automobile mechanics that we just mentioned, organizational managers have to diagnose what may currently be wrong with a process so that they can successfully repair and/or tune the process up. If they don’t do the diagnosis correctly, managers may create training solutions that don’t solve the existing problem. So the manager has to go through a process of identifying where in a current sequence of events things are not working the way they should, or how they can be done more efficiently. Only by diligently going through the process of looking at that chain of events in the status quo can a manager identify where the process can be changed to improve organizational productivity and reach the organization’s goals. Challenges to the Training Process As part of the needs assessment and in order to design training appropriately, we need to identify and discuss some common challenges to the training process. These include minimally prepared or unprepared workers, difficulty in identifying the return on investment provided from training, employee resistance to change and feelings of insecurity, matching the training to the strategic goals of the organization, and logistics issues—including scheduling and making locations available for training courses. Managers have to work through each of these challenges in order for training programs to be successful. Work Application 7-3 Do a simple needs assessment for a job you have or had. Be sure to state the competency model (knowledge, skills, and abilities) it takes to do the job. Unprepared Workforce
One of the most significant challenges to work process training is the fact that so many of the individuals being hired into the workforce are ill prepared in the educational basics, including reading and math skills. As we noted in Chapter 6, employers continue to hire substantial numbers of new entrants who have significant education but poor work skills, requiring additional company investment to improve workforce readiness.24 In cases where the employees don’t have the basic skills necessary to succeed, the organization must train them in those basic skill sets before they can be taught the advanced skills necessary to improve organizational processes. Return on Investment/Cost Justification Businesses today are naturally concerned with the return that they get from any corporate investment. Training is time- consuming and expensive,25and it is no different from any other investment. Executives expect and, in fact, require that training provide a positive return on investment (ROI). HR managers have become more familiar with the ROI calculation discussed in Chapter 2, and they use it to provide justification for the financial cost of training programs. Work Application 7-4 Think about the people you have worked with. What is your perception of the preparation they have had for the workforce? Resistance to Change and Employee Insecurity Since this is not a change management text, suffice it to say that virtually all individuals resist changes to their routine. They resist for a variety of reasons—including insecurity, based on their concern that they may not be able to successfully adapt to the change in some way. This insecurity leads to resistance to change, and it can cause significant difficulty in the training process. Management must overcome resistance to change exhibited by the workers so that training can be successful. Work Application 7-5 Think about the people you have worked with. What is your perception of their resistance to changes in their work routine? Strategic Congruence
Strategic congruence is another challenge to the training process. One of the most critical requirements in corporate training programs is the need to ensure that the training furthers the strategic goals of the organization. Any training program that does not aim squarely at the strategic goals of the organization is difficult to justify in a corporate environment. As HR managers, we have to ensure that our training and development programs help to carry out the organization’s strategy over the long term. Scheduling The last of our common challenges, scheduling, involves both the timing and the location of the training. As with most things, there’s never an ideal time to schedule a training course, especially if it runs for several days or even weeks. The trainees have to leave their regular jobs undone for the period of the training, and the organization has to be able to operate without those trainees performing their normal tasks. In addition, the training may require the use of physical locations that have special equipment or tools and that are available only for limited time periods during the year. These logistics issues may seem minimal, but they frequently create significant problems for the HR department in scheduling training courses. Reference: Lussier, R. N., & Hendon, J. R. (2019). Human resource management functions, applications, and skill development. Los Angeles: SAGE. 3. Differentiate the concept of performance management and performance appraisal with three (3) to four (4) key points. Then, make your case to leadership for or against using annual performance appraisals in the organization. Be specific with your perspective. Performance Management Systems After we have recruited, selected, and trained employees, we
must evaluate how well they perform their jobs so they know how they are doing. Therefore, performance evaluation is an important part of the jobs of managers and HRM staff.1 We need to figure out how to manage employees’ performance over time to ensure that they remain productive and hopefully become even more capable as they progress in their careers. So the primary purpose of performance appraisal should be to help employees to continuously improve their performance.2 Remember our earlier discussion about the fact that human resources are typically one of the few resources we can leverage to create a sustainable competitive advantage for the firm. To this end, we discuss in this section the difference between performance management and performance appraisal, and we present the performance appraisal process. LO 8-1 Discuss the difference between performance management and performance appraisals. Performance Management Versus Performance Appraisal “In a knowledge economy, organizations rely heavily on their intangible assets to build value. Consequently, performance management at the individual employee level is essential and the business case for implementing a system to measure and improve employee performance is strong.”3Committing management time and effort to increase performance not only meets this goal but also decreases turnover rates.4 SHRM Q:5 Improving Organizational Effectiveness How do we manage performance within the organization? The most common part of the process, and the one with which we are most familiar, is the performance appraisal, or evaluation. (In this chapter, we will use the terms performance evaluation, performance appraisal, and just appraisalinterchangeably.) However,
the performance appraisal process is not the only thing that’s done in performance management. Performance managementis the process of identifying, measuring, managing, and developing the performance of the human resources in an organization. Basically we are trying to figure out how well employees perform and then ultimately improve that performance level. When used correctly, performance management is a systematic analysis and measurement of worker performance (and communication of that assessment to the individual) that we use to improve performance over time. SHRM E:4 Performance Management (Performance Criteria and Appraisal) SHRM Q:9 Ongoing Performance and Productivity Initiatives Performance appraisal, on the other hand, is the ongoing process of evaluating employee performance. Notice that it is an ongoing process. Employees need regular feedback on their performance,5 so we should give them routine and candid assessments.6 New tools that we will discuss shortly are allowing us to do this much more efficiently. Performance appraisals are reviews of employee performance over time, so appraisal is just one piece of performance management. Although we will spend most of the chapter discussing performance appraisals, there are several significant pieces to performance management that we have already covered in past chapters and others that we will cover in future chapters. We discussed “strategic planning,” which provides inputs into what we want to evaluate in our performance management system, in Chapter 2. We also discussed the major method of identifying performance requirements in a particular job when we went through “job analysis and design” in Chapter 4. In Chapter 7, we discussed “training and development,” which obviously plays a part in performance management.
Additionally, we will discuss motivating employees, coaching and counseling, employee relations, compensation, and other pieces in Chapters 9 through 14. Now that we understand the difference between performance management and performance appraisal, let’s look at the performance appraisal issue in more detail. Netflix is one company that has stopped doing formal performance appraisals. Ryan Anson/AFP/Getty Images Is It Time to Delete the Annual Appraisal Process? It is worth noting right at the beginning that many people in organizations do not like performance appraisal systems and think that these systems do not have the ability to improve employee performance. One study even noted that 95% of managers are dissatisfied with their performance management system and 90% of HR managers believe the system does not yield accurate performance information!7 Routinely, there are calls to do away with performance appraisal processes.8Netflix is one company that has completely stopped doing formal performance appraisals, even though the CEO noted that “excellent colleagues trump everything else.”9 (Netflix still does complete informal 360-degree appraisals. We will introduce you to these shortly.) So why does this process continue to be used by most major organizations? Performance management The process of identifying, measuring, managing, and developing the performance of the human resources in an organization Performance appraisal The ongoing process of evaluating employee performance In the past three or four years, it would seem to the average HR manager that there has been a never-ending line of companies that have decided to dump their annual performance appraisals. In addition to Netflix, a list of Fortune 500 companies like Deloitte, Adobe Systems, GE, PwC,10 and SAP11 have
trashed their annual appraisal approaches. Looking at all of the articles written about dumping appraisals, the natural question would be, “Why are we studying this if it is going away?” The quickest answer is that it isn’t quite gone yet and probably won’t be for some time—if ever. Based on a number of different surveys in the past couple of years, around 10 to 15% of companies have decided to stop using annual reviews. The numbers were about 6% of Fortune 500 companies in 201512 and about 12% to 15% in 2017,13 which leaves around 85% of those companies and many other smaller firms still using annual evaluations. Why hasn’t the rest of the business world let go of this relic of the industrial age if it doesn’t work like it needs to? Again, the quick answer is that there is valuable information that is gained from the process; and the latest online, app-based, and/or social options have not gotten to the point yet where they can provide all of the same valuable information. “The documentation that traditional appraisals produce is a business necessity. The data collected . . . allows the organization to make important decision in a whole host of business areas.”14 So one of the most valuable reasons for performance appraisals is to provide information for making good management decisions; and if we don’t have that information, decisions become more difficult and dangerous. In addition, at least some research shows that deleting the performance appraisal does not automatically make the organization better, and may make it worse. Research by CEB showed that “[a]t firms where reviews had been eliminated, measures of employee engagement and performance dropped by 10%. . . . Managers actually spent less time on conversations, and the quality of those conversations declined.”15 But new ideas for some form of routine or continuous technology-based appraisal and feedback (often called “check- ins” by the firms) have proliferated over the recent past,16 with dozens if not hundreds of tech companies now offering apps or other software solutions17 to provide companies with the ability
to give all employees constant feedback. For obvious reasons, this continuous appraisal seems to be more common in organizations that are less traditional and bureaucratic, and that are more comfortable with technology solutions. We spoke about Zappos’s holacracy earlier. Zappos is trying to use holistic feedback from all sides (a massive 360-degree evaluation) in order to evaluate its employees and encourage creativity and innovation. Still, we have to struggle with a significant problem: Organizations legitimately use periodic appraisals to make good decisions about their employees and employee development.18 If performance appraisals are not completed, the organization doesn’t have valid and reliable information about its human resources; and therefore it has no ability to make good decisions about things such as training, promotions, and pay raises. Because of this major issue, it is unlikely that most organizations will hit the delete button on their annual appraisal process until the newer technologies have been proven capable of defending the organization from claims of employment discrimination. Work Application 8-1 Select a job you have or have had. Do you or did you know the organization’s mission and objectives? Briefly state the mission. If you don’t know it, find out. Do you understand how your job fits or helps to meet the organization’s mission and objectives? Explain in some detail. Performance Appraisals Let’s take a look now at the performance appraisal process in Exhibit 8-1. Note the connection between the organization’s mission and objectives and the performance appraisal process. Here we briefly discuss each step of the process. Step 1: Job analysis This is logically our first step because if we don’t know what a job consists of, how can we possibly evaluate an employee’s performance in that job? We already learned how to do a job analysis in Chapter 4, but as shown in Exhibit 8-1, we
should realize that the job must be based on the organizational mission and objectives, the department, and the job itself. Step 2: Develop standards and measurement methods If we don’t have standards of acceptable behavior and methods of measuring performance, how can we assess that performance? We will discuss performance measurement methods in the next part of this section; and in the section “How Do We Use Appraisal Methods and Forms?” we will discuss these topics in more detail. Step 3: Informal performance appraisal—Coaching and disciplining Performance appraisal should not be simply a once- or twice-a- year formal interview. As its definition states, performance appraisal is an ongoing process. While a formal evaluation may take place only once or twice a year, people need regular feedback on their performance to know how they are doing.19 We will briefly discuss coaching in the “Critical Incidents Method” subsection of “How Do We Use Appraisal Methods and Forms?” and we will discuss it in more detail in the next chapter. Exhibit 8-1 The Performance Appraisal Process Step 4: Prepare for and conduct the formal performance appraisal The common practice is to have a formal performance review with the boss once or sometimes twice a year, using one or more of the measurement forms we will be learning about. Later in this chapter, we will discuss the steps involved in preparing for and conducting the performance appraisal. In the chapter sections to come, we discuss why we assess performance, what we assess, how we assess it, and who conducts the performanceappraisal. Then we discuss performance appraisal problems and how to avoid them, and we end the performance appraisal process with the actual formal review session. But before we leave this section, we need to understand a critically important part of each step in
the performance appraisal process: accurate performance measurement. Accurate Performance Measures To effectively assess performance, we need to have clear standards for and methods of measuring performance.20 The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) has outlined the minimum required elements of a performance management system for goal setting, performance review, and performance improvement plans.21 For details, visit the ANSI website at http://www.ansi.org. We need accurate standards and measures of employee performance both to effectively assess performance and to let employees know where they can improve.22 This in turn should lead to training employees to develop the new skills they need to improve their performance.23 Also, to be an accurate measure of performance, our measure must be valid, reliable, acceptable and feasible, specific, and based on the mission and objectives. Let’s discuss each of those requirements here. Valid and Reliable As in all areas of our people management process, we must do our best to make sure that all of our performance management tools are valid and reliable. Here again, we can pull out and dust off the OUCH test as a quick way to ensure fairness and equity in the performance management and appraisal process. We remember by now that OUCH stands for Objective, Uniform in application, Consistent in effect, and Has job relatedness. However, we still need to analyze validity and reliability in some detail. We have to create valid and reliable measurement to be accurate. Recall that we discussed reliability and validity in Chapter 4 and Chapter 6. Validmeans that a measure is true and correct; a valid measure is a factual one that measures the process that you wanted to measure. Reliable means the measure is consistent; it works in generally the same way each time we
use it.24 Acceptable and Feasible In addition to validity and reliability, we need to look at a couple of other characteristics of our performance measures— acceptability and feasibility.25Acceptability means that the use of the measure is satisfactory or appropriate to the people who must use it. However, in performance appraisal, this isn’t enough. To be acceptable, an evaluation tool must also be feasible. Is it possible to reasonably apply the evaluation tool in a particular case, or is it too complex or lengthy to work well? As an example, if the performance evaluation form is two or three pages long and covers the major aspects of the job that is being evaluated, and if managers and employees both believe that the form truly evaluates performance measures that identify success on the job, then managers and employees are likely to feel that the tool is acceptable and feasible to use. However, if the manager must fill out a 25-page form that has very little to do with the job being evaluated, the manager may not feel that the form is acceptable or feasible, at least partially due to its length, even if the employees do. Conversely, if the manager fills out a two-page evaluation that they feel is a true measure of performance in an employee’s job, but the employee feels that the evaluation leaves out large segments of what is done in the work routine, the employee may not feel that the form is acceptable and feasible. If either management or employees feel that the form is unacceptable, it most likely will not be used correctly. (This would also mean that the person would not see the evaluation as a valid measure.26) And as we saw in the section on deleting the performance appraisal process, many managers and employees do not currently see their appraisal process as acceptable and feasible—a significant problem with the process. Work Application 8-2 Assess the accuracy of the measurements of your performance on your last performance appraisal. Be sure to describe the measures’ validity, reliability, acceptability, and
feasibility, plus whether the measures were specific and based on the organization’s mission and objectives. Specific The evaluation measure must be specific enough to identify what is going well and what is not. The word specific means that something is explicitly identified or defined well enough that all involved completely understand the issue. In performance appraisals, a specific form provides enough information for everyone to understand what level of performance has been achieved by a particular employee within a well-identified job. Creating specific measures is the only way to use a performance appraisal to improve the performance of employees over time. The employees have to understand what they are and are not doing successfully. Many times, evaluation forms may be too general in nature to be of value for modifying employee behaviors because we want the form to serve for a large number of different types of jobs. This can create significant problems in the performance appraisal process. Based on the Mission and Objectives Finally, you want to make sure that your performance management system leads to the accomplishment of your organizational mission and objectives. As with everything else we do in HR, we need to ensure that the performance management process guides our employees toward achievement of the company’s mission and objectives over time. As managers, making sure of this connection will allow us to reinforce employee behaviors that aim at achieving organizational goals, and it will also allow us to identify for our employees things that they may be doing that actively or unintentionally harm our ability to reach those goals. Thus, stating specific objectives saying exactly what each person in each job should achieve, or their performance outcomes, leads to accurate assessment that can increase performance. For some examples of inaccurate measures of performance, complete Applying the Concept 8-1.
8-1 Applying The Concept Measurement Accuracy Before each of the situation descriptions below, write the letter corresponding to the accuracy criterion for a measure that is NOT met in the situation. 1. valid 2. reliable 3. accepted 4. feasible 5. specific 6. based on the mission and objectives · ____ 1. My boss is on my case because I’m not producing as much as I used to. But it’s not my fault that the machine jams more often and then I have to stop working to fix it. · ____ 2. My boss said I have to evaluate all 25 of my employees four times a year instead of only once. I told her I don’t have the time to do it that many times. It’s just not possible to do a good review that often without cutting back on other things that are more important. · ____ 3. My boss said I have a bad attitude and gave me a lower overall performance rating. I questioned what my attitude had to do with my performance because I get all my work done well, and by the deadline. · ____ 4. My boss asked me to complete a self-evaluation form rating my performance. But I didn’t do it because it is her job— I let her do it. · ____ 5. My boss told me that I was not doing a very good job. But when I asked him why, he never gave me any details to support his assessment. Good answer. Why Do We Conduct Performance Appraisals? As you can already see, the appraisal process gets to be extremely complicated very quickly. And remember, anytime that a process in an organization is complicated, it is going to cost a lot of money. So what’s the value provided to the organization and to the individual that makes the process of evaluating the performance of our workers so critical?
LO 8-2 List and briefly discuss the purposes of performance appraisals. If performance appraisals are done in the correct manner, they can provide us with a series of valuable results. However, if not done correctly, evaluating employee performance can actually lead to lower levels of job satisfaction and productivity. Let’s discuss three major reasons (communicating, decision making, and motivating) why performance evaluations are completed and why they are so critical to continually improving organizational performance.27 Communication (Informing) The first major reason for performance appraisals is to provide an opportunity for formal communication between management and the employees concerning how the organization believes each employee is performing. All of us know intuitively that successful communication requires two- way interaction between people. “Organizations can prevent or remedy the majority of performance problems by ensuring that two-way conversations occur between managers and employees, resulting in a complete understanding of what is required, when it is required, and how everyone’s contribution measures up.”28 Communication always requires that employees have the opportunity and ability to provide feedback to their bosses in order to make sure that their communication is understood. So in performance appraisals, the communication process requires that we as managers communicate with the employee to provide them with information about how we believe they’re doing in their job. However, the process also requires that we provide the opportunity for the employee to speak to us concerning factors that inhibit their ability to successfully perform to expectations. Factors in a job that management may not know about can include lack of training, poorly maintained equipment, lack of necessary tools, conflict within work groups, and many other things that management may not see on a daily basis. If the communication component of the performanceappraisal process
does not allow for this two-way communication, managers may not know of the obstacles that the employee has to overcome. We can resolve problems only when we know about them. So as managers, we need to communicate with our employees to find out when issues within the work environment are causing a loss of productivity so we can fix them. Thus, two-way communication is a critical component of correcting problems through the performance appraisal process. Decision Making (Evaluating) The second major purpose of performance appraisal is to allow management to make decisions about employees within the organization. We need to make decisions based on the information we get from our communication. Accurate information is necessary for management decision making and is absolutely critical to allow the manager to improve organizational productivity.29 We use information from annual performance appraisals to make evaluative decisions concerning our workforce, including such things as pay raises, promotions, demotions, training and development, and termination. When we have valid and reliable information concerning each individual within our division or department, we have the ability to make administrative and performance decisions that can enhance productivity for the firm. If, for instance, through the process of coaching (the third step of the performance appraisal process), we find that several machine operators are having trouble keeping their equipment in working order, then that information would quite likely lead to a needs assessment (as discussed in Chapter 7) to determine whether or not maintenance training is necessary for our group of operators. Without our rigorous evaluation process, we might not learn of this common problem in a timely fashion, and the result could be significant damage to very expensive equipment. This and similar types of information frequently come to the forefront as we go through the performance appraisal process. Therefore, decision making based on good communication is a
very large part of why we take the time to do annual performance appraisals. Motivation (Engaging) The third major purpose of performance appraisals is to motivate our employees to improve the way they work, which in turn will improve organizational productivity overall.30 But what is motivation, and are performance appraisals normally motivational? We define motivation here as the willingness to achieve organizational objectives. We want to create this willingness to achieve the organization’s objectives, which will in turn increase organizational productivity. HRM in Action Performance Appraisal SHRM H:7 Managing Performance Our evaluative decisions should lead to development of employees. Returning to the above example of the machine operators having trouble keeping their equipment in working order, making the decision to train employees leads to their development, which then improves their individual performance, as well as better utilizing organizational resources. Motivation The willingness to achieve organizational objectives Evaluating and Motivating = Development An effective performance appraisal process has two parts— evaluating and motivating—and it does both parts well. Evaluating is about assessing pastperformance, and motivating is about developing employees to improve their future performance. But are both parts done well? Have you ever been in a position of being evaluated and debriefed as an employee? Was the process motivational? Most of us would probably reply no. Think about that appraisal process and how it was carried out. Here we discuss problems with evaluation and how to overcome them, as well as how to motivate employees.
We also suggest separating formal assessment meetings designed to evaluate or motivate. Problems in Evaluation A common problem in appraisals is overpowering an employee during the evaluation debrief with large amounts of negative information that they have not heard during coaching. This tends to cause the employee to “turn off” or stop listening as the manager explains what is wrong. Employees will just “raise their shields” to ward off all of the negative information. This is a natural human trait. We are naturally suspicious of negative information for a variety of psychological reasons (i.e., defensive mechanisms), so when we are presented with a large amount of negative information, we tend to discount or even disbelieve it. Therefore, employees in such situations may consider the process unfair or one-sided and not an accurate measure of their performance (not acceptable), and as a result, the evaluation may become useless as a motivator that develops the employee. Avoiding Problems in Evaluation To help overcome this problem during employee evaluations, an effective manager who is a good coach will generally never identify a weakness that the employee has not previously been made aware of during the formal appraisal interview. This is the key to making the appraisal acceptable to the employee. In other words, there are no surprises in a well-run evaluation. The evaluative part of the appraisal should be a review only of what the employee already knows and should be willing hear because they have been coached on their performance throughout the evaluation period. However, avoiding surprises is not enough.31 The appraisal debrief must be a well-rounded look at the individual employee, and it should identify both positive and negative (specific) factors in the employee’s behaviors and results within the job (and remember, the communication needs to be two-way). As the manager, we want to tell the employees what they did right but also where they have room for improvement. This more
balanced approach to the debriefing process will minimize the risk that the employee will raise those shields and avoid listening. Motivating Development An important part of development is the need for managers to provide motivational opportunities for the employees to improve their performance over time. In other words, we need to tell them how to fix their own problems. We need to provide them with tools, training, or other methods that will allow them to improve to the point where their behavior is sufficient. Then, we must continually strive to get them to perform at an above- average level and ultimately become superior performers, helping them along the way through ongoing coaching between formal reviews. If we provide employees with tools that allow them to improve over time, we’re not focusing on negative past results but on positive future potential results.32 If employees are given an honest opportunity to fix something that they know is a problem and are given the necessary tools or training, most will take advantage of that opportunity. So performance appraisals can be motivational if they are properly used and debriefed. Work Application 8-3 Assess the effectiveness of an evaluative performance appraisal you had. Did the manager present both positive and negative performance areas? Did you really listen? Were there any surprises? Explain any problems and how the evaluation could be improved. Separating Evaluation and Development To improve both parts of the performance appraisal, we suggest splitting the debriefing into two separate interviews. The first meeting is to evaluate the employee’s past performance, pointing out strengths and areas for improvement; the employee is asked to think about how to improve performance. At the second meeting, manager and employee jointly come up with a developmental plan that should lead to increased performance, which in turn will result in a higher future evaluative rating
during the next formal appraisal. We will discuss how to conduct the two separate interviews in the “Debriefing the Appraisal” section of this chapter. What Do We Assess? Now that we know why we conduct performance appraisals, the next step is to figure out what needs to be evaluated. In other words, we have to decide what aspects of the individual and their performance we’re going to measure. Discovering the best options for what to evaluate would come from analyzing the essential functions and qualifications required for a particular job, or in HR terms, our job analysis. We could then use these facts to design an appraisal instrument that uses measurable and observable factors to evaluate performance.33 However, we can’t evaluate everything that is done over the course of the year. We have to choose what we will focus on because what gets measured, and evaluated, gets done.34 Our three primary options for what to evaluate are traits, behaviors, and results. LO 8-3 Identify and briefly discuss the options for what to evaluate in a performance appraisal. Trait Appraisals Traitsidentify the physical or psychological characteristics of a person. Traits of an individual can be part of the performance appraisal process. There is evidence that traits such as inquisitiveness, conscientiousness, and general cognitive ability are valuable in jobs that require management and leadership skills.35,36 However, we must ensure that we focus on traits that have a direct relationship to the essential functions of the job, that they are within the control of the individual, and that they are accurate measures. Can we accurately measure traits that affect job performance, can trait measures pass the OUCH test, are traits commonly measured, and should we measure traits as part of our performance appraisal process? Here we answer these questions, and we will answer these same questions for our behavior and results options.
Can We Accurately Measure Traits That Affect Job Performance? Many traits that most of us would be likely to focus on—such as physical attractiveness, height, and extroversion—actually have been shown to have very little bearing on job performance in most cases. If we’re going to use traits in performance evaluation, we must ensure that we focus on traits that have a direct relationship to the essential functions of the job being done, and they have to be accurate measures. Is using trait-based evaluation a good method of judging work performance? How many of us would want to have judgments made about our work based on our appearance or personality? Would you consider this to be a valid and reliable measure of your work performance? In most cases, it’s very difficult to show that personal traits are valid and reliable measures of work performance. Give Traits the OUCH Test Let’s take a look at trait-based measurements using the OUCH test. Is a physical characteristic such as height or a psychological characteristic such as cheerfulness, work ethic, or enthusiasm an objective measure of an individual’s work performance? We would have great difficulty in creating a quantifiable and factual link between height or enthusiasm and job performance. So when measuring traits, it’s difficult to meet the objectiverequirement of the OUCH test. If we utilized these trait-based measures in all cases in employee evaluations, we would be able to meet the uniform in application requirement of the OUCH test. The third test— consistent in effect—would likely be extremely difficult to meet due to the fact that different racial, ethnic, social, and gender groups tend to have different physical and psychological characteristics. Remember, reliability is a measure of consistency. Physical and personality characteristics have less to do with success in the job than certain behaviors do. So it’s difficult to meet the has job relatedness test in most cases. Finally, it would be very difficult to get different supervisors to
evaluate subjective traits the same, because of their own personality traits. Traits The physical or psychological characteristics of a person Are Traits Commonly Used to Measure Performance? Surprisingly, if you go to the local office supply store and look at standard evaluation forms that are available in preprinted pads, you will find that they usually list many traits as part of the evaluation. Why would this be the case? The simple answer is that at least some traits, both physical and psychological, are fairly easy to identify and we assume that they are related to how the individual will perform on the job. Many of us, individually and as managers, value certain things like enthusiasm, even if enthusiasm has very little to do with the ability to do a particular job or the actual results of job performance. Certainly, there are some jobs where enthusiasm is critical. However, being an enthusiastic employee may have very little to do with success in the job, so if we evaluate individuals based on the characteristic of enthusiasm, we might make an error in judgment concerning their performance. And if we make errors in analyzing the performance of our employees, the appraisal form becomes less valid and reliable and much less acceptable to both the individual employee and management. Finally, if our organization happened to be sued by a former employee who claimed that they were fired based on an appraisal process that was unreliable and not valid, it would be very difficult to defend trait-based evaluation forms due to their subjective nature. Should We Measure Traits? Author Ken Blanchard said that there are too many evaluation items that can’t be objectively measured—such as attitude, initiative, and promotability. Therefore, it’s important to ask whether both managers and employees will agree with the measured rating as being accurate. The bottom-line test (we will call it the Blanchard test) is this: Does everyone understand
why they are assessed at a specific level (evaluation) and what it takes to get a higher rating (development)?37 We should assess only traits that meet the bottom-line test of having a direct and obvious objective relationship between the trait and success in the job. Behavioral Appraisals Our second option in the assessment process is to evaluate employees based on behaviors. You will recall that behaviorsare simply the actions taken by an individual—the things that they do and say. Behavioral appraisals measure what individuals do at work, not their personal characteristics. Is this a good option to use in a performance appraisal process? Can We Accurately Measure Behaviors That Affect Job Performance? As a general rule, it is much better to use behaviors in an appraisal than it is to use traits. While an individual supervisor or manager may make a mistake in judgment about the traits of an employee, physical actions or behaviors can be directly observed; and as a result, they are more likely to be a valid assessment of the individual’s performance. Give Behavior the OUCH Test Let’s take a look at a behavioral evaluation using the OUCH test. Would an evaluation based on actions taken by an employee be objective? In general, directly observing and evaluating an action is significantly more objective than making an attempt to judge a trait like individual effort. If we applied the same evaluation of behaviors to all of the individuals in the same type of job, we would have a reasonable certainty that we were being uniform in application. The same thing would be true here in evaluating the concept of consistent in effect. Behaviors The actions taken by an individual So, it comes down to whether or not a behavior-based evaluation has job relatedness. Would a behavioral evaluation be directly related to the essential functions of a job? The answer is that it would be if we made sure that we chose behaviors that were necessarily a part of successfully
accomplishing a task. For instance, if we determine that a person acts correctly in filling out a requisition form, putting the proper information in the correct blocks, and providing the requisition to the appropriate person who would then order the material, then we are assessing behaviors that are job related. If, however, we evaluated the action of walking to the lunchroom and walking back to one’s workstation, would we be measuring a valid job-related behavior? The answer is more than likely no. Of course, this is a silly example, but it should help you understand that no matter what we do in the evaluation process, we need to ensure that our actions are job related. OK, but would behavioral evaluations be defensible in the situation of our fired employee above? Would it be possible for us to show that our evaluation process was valid and reliable? If we choose to measure job-related behaviors, it becomes much easier for the organization to defend the validity and reliability of the appraisal process. Observation of actions that are directly related to a job would provide at least some presumption of validity as well as reliability, purely because the behaviors are directly job related. Again, if we chose behaviors that could not be directly associated with the job, the validity and reliability of the measures would be suspect. Should We Measure Behavior? Are behaviors that measure performance more acceptable to the individual employee and the managers than personal traits? In fact, evidence shows that most individuals are very comfortable with the evaluation of their performance being based on “what they do,” not “who they are.” In general, the most useful and therefore most acceptable feedback to employees is feedback on specific job-related behaviors.38 As managers, though, we still need to be cognizant of the fact that a behavioral evaluation can be a poor measure of work performance unless the behaviors chosen are directly applicable to being successful in the job. So as with traits, the Blanchard test asks whether employees understand why they are assessed at a specific level (evaluation) and what it takes to get a higher rating (development).39
Results Appraisals Our final option is to evaluate the results, or outcomes, of the work process. Resultsare simply a measure of the goals achieved through a work process. Using results as an evaluation measure provides management with an assessment of the goals that were achieved in a particular job over time. Can We Accurately Measure Results That Affect Job Performance? Is measuring the outcomes of a particular individual’s job a valid and reliable measure of that person’s performance? Well, results are certainly concrete measures of performance. However, could results of a job have been skewed based on factors that were outside the control of the individual who is performing that job? The answer is obviously that the results could be affected by many other factors besides the individual’s performance. For example, standards could be set too low or high, and equipment and machines don’t always work correctly. As a result, employees can’t do as much, or any, work. Even though this is true, the measurement of results is the final organizational measure of success. The results produced through organizational processes provide the company with its return on investment—in this case, its investment in the people in the organization. So, organizations really like to measure results. Give Results the OUCH Test Let’s take a look at the OUCH test concerning results-based evaluations. Is a result achieved in a particular job a concrete, factual measure that can easily be quantified? Obviously, results are a very objective measure of what has happened in that particular job. If we apply the same results-based measure to each similar job, then our measure is uniform in application. The measure of results would almost certainly be consistent across different groups of employees, so we would also meet the consistency in effect requirement of the OUCH test. And of course, if we are measuring the results of what happens in a job, we are certainly providing a measure that has job relatedness.
So with a quick scan, we can see that a results- based performanceappraisal meets the requirements of the OUCH test better than do either of the other two options. FOLLOW INSTRUCTIONS TO THE MAX IF THERE ARE ANY QUESTIONS PLEASE DO ASK!! I DO NOT WISH TO ARGUE IN THE END!!!! PAPER INSTRUCTIONS Assignment 2: Employee Development and Performance Continuing from Assignment 1, you were selected as the new HR director for the retail company and now have been in the position for approximately 6 months. Your approach to strategy, planning, and selection have been quite successful thus far, and now it is time to address the organization’s expectation for performance and development of employees since these components of HR strategy are critical in achieving business outcomes and success. (UTILIZE IN INTRODUCTION!!) Write a five to six (5-6) page paper in which you: 1. Critically analyze and discuss any researched (web or textbook) training process model you may consider for use in developing employees (here’s an idea: https://educationaltechnology.net/the-addie-model- instructional-design/ or exhibit 7-1, page 230 in the text book). Then, identify and discuss some possible challenges that might be faced in implementing a new training process in the company. 2. List and briefly discuss at least three (3) types or methods of training that can be used for employee training. Of the 3, which would you select to train the retail employees, and why? Be specific. ( Use OJT!!) 3. Differentiate the concept of performance management and performance appraisal with three (3) to four (4) key points. Then, make your case to leadership for using annual
performance appraisals in the organization. Be specific with your perspective. · Format your assignment according to these formatting requirements: a. Be typed, double spaced, using Times New Roman font (size 12), with one-inch margins on all sides; references must follow APA format. b. PAPER MUST HAVE AN INTRODUCTION, BODY, CONCLUSION!!!! c. Include a cover page containing the title of the assignment (with running head), the student’s name, the professor’s name, the course title, and the date. The cover page is not included in the required page length. d. Include a reference page. MUST USE AT MINIMUM 4 REFERENCES!! Citations and references must follow APA format. The reference page is not included in the required page length. NO WIKI REFS!!! THE TEXTBOOK MUST BE USED AS A REFERENCE!!!!!! Lussier, R. N., & Hendon, J. R. (2019). Human resource management functions, applications, and skill development. Los Angeles: SAGE. e. FOR EACH SECTION LISTED ABOVE 1-3 THE BEGINNING PARAGRAPH SHOULD HAVE A TITLE SIMILAR TO THE INSTRUCTIONS SEE RUBRIC BELOW Unacceptable 0 - 69% F Fair 70 - 79% C Proficient 80 - 89% B Exemplary 90 - 100% A
HRM599-A2-1 1. Critically analyze and research (web or textbook) any training process model you may consider for use in developing employees, then identify and discuss some possible challenges that might be faced in implementing a new training process in the company. Points Range:0 (0%) - 29.32 (17.25%) Did not submit or incompletely critically analyzed and researched (web or textbook) any training process model you may consider for use in developing employees, then did not identify and discuss some possible challenges that might be faced in implementing a new training process in the company. Points Range:29.75 (17.5%) - 33.58 (19.75%) Partially critically analyzed and researched (web or textbook) any training process model you may consider for use in developing employees, then partially identified and discussed some possible challenges that might be faced in implementing a new training process in the company. Points Range:34 (20%) - 37.82 (22.25%) Satisfactorily critically analyzed and researched (web or textbook) any training process model you may consider for use in developing employees, then satisfactorily identified and discussed some possible challenges that might be faced in implementing a new training process in the company. Points Range:38.25 (22.5%) - 42.5 (25%) Thoroughly critically analyzed and researched (web or textbook) any training process model you may consider for use in developing employees, then thoroughly identified and discussed some possible challenges that might be faced in implementing a new training process in the company. HRM599-A2-2 2. List and briefly discuss at least three (3) types or methods of training that can be used for employee training. Of the 3, which would you select to train the retail employees, and why? Be specific. Points Range:0 (0%) - 29.32 (17.25%)
Did not submit or incompletely listed and briefly discussed at least three (3) types or methods of training that can be used for employee training, and of the 3, did not select one to be used to train the retail employees, and specifically stated why. Points Range:29.75 (17.5%) - 33.58 (19.75%) Partially listed and briefly discussed at least three (3) types or methods of training that can be used for employee training, and of the 3, partially selected one to be used to train the retail employees, and specifically stated why. Points Range:34 (20%) - 37.82 (22.25%) Satisfactorily listed and briefly discussed at least three (3) types or methods of training that can be used for employee training, and of the 3, satisfactorily selected one to be used to train the retail employees, and specifically stated why. Points Range:38.25 (22.5%) - 42.5 (25%) Thoroughly listed and briefly discussed at least three (3) types or methods of training that can be used for employee training, and of the 3, thoroughly selected one to be used to train the retail employees, and specifically stated why. HRM599-A2-3 3. Differentiate the concepts of performance management and performance appraisal with three (3) to four (4) key points. Then, make your case to leadership for or against using annual performance appraisals in the organization. Be specific with your perspective. Points Range:0 (0%) - 29.32 (17.25%) Did not submit or incompletely differentiated the concepts of performance management and performance appraisal with three (3) to four (4) key points and did not make a specific case to leadership for or against using annual performance appraisals in the organization. Points Range:29.75 (17.5%) - 33.58 (19.75%) Partially differentiated the concepts of performance management and performance appraisal with three (3) to four (4) key points and partially made a specific case to leadership for or against using annual performance appraisals in the
organization. Points Range:34 (20%) - 37.82 (22.25%) Satisfactorily differentiated the concepts of performance management and performance appraisal with three (3) to four (4) key points and satisfactorily made a specific case to leadership for or against using annual performance appraisals in the organization. Points Range:38.25 (22.5%) - 42.5 (25%) Thoroughly used the Diversity or SexuaThoroughly differentiated the concepts of performance management and performance appraisal with three (3) to four (4) key points and thoroughly made a specific case to leadership for or against using annual performance appraisals in the organization. l Harassment Training Plan template located in Week 5 of your Blackboard course shell to develop a training plan to communicate one (1) of the policies you created (the diversity policy or the sexual harassment policy) to the company’s managers, staff, and employees. HRM599-A2-4 4. 4 references Points Range:0 (0%) - 5.86 (3.45%) No references provided. Points Range:5.95 (3.5%) - 6.72 (3.95%) Does not meet the required number of references; some or all references poor quality choices. Points Range:6.8 (4%) - 7.56 (4.45%) Meets number of required references; all references high quality choices. Points Range:7.65 (4.5%) - 8.5 (5%) Exceeds number of required references; all references high quality choices. HRM599-A2-5 5. Writing Mechanics, Grammar, and Formatting Points Range:0 (0%) - 5.86 (3.45%) Serious and persistent errors in grammar, spelling, punctuation, or formatting.
Points Range:5.95 (3.5%) - 6.72 (3.95%) Partially free of errors in grammar, spelling, punctuation, or formatting. Points Range:6.8 (4%) - 7.56 (4.45%) Mostly free of errors in grammar, spelling, punctuation, or formatting. Points Range:7.65 (4.5%) - 8.5 (5%) Error free or almost error free grammar, spelling, punctuation, or formatting. HRM599-A2-6 6. Appropriate Use of APA In-Text Citations and Reference Points Range:0 (0%) - 5.86 (3.45%) Lack of in-text citations and / or lack of reference section. Points Range:5.95 (3.5%) - 6.72 (3.95%) In-text citations and references are provided, but they are only partially formatted correctly in APA style. Points Range:6.8 (4%) - 7.56 (4.45%) Most in-text citations and references are provided, and they are generally formatted correctly in APA style. Points Range:7.65 (4.5%) - 8.5 (5%) In-text citations and references are error free or almost error free and consistently formatted correctly in APA style. HRM599-A2-7 7. Information Literacy/Integration of Sources Points Range:0 (0%) - 5.86 (3.45%) Serious errors in the integration of sources, such as intentional or accidental plagiarism, or failure to use in-text citations. Points Range:5.95 (3.5%) - 6.72 (3.95%) Sources are partially integrated using effective techniques of quoting, paraphrasing, and summarizing. Points Range:6.8 (4%) - 7.56 (4.45%) Sources are mostly integrated using effective techniques of quoting, paraphrasing, and summarizing. Points Range:7.65 (4.5%) - 8.5 (5%) Sources are consistently integrated using effective techniques of quoting, paraphrasing, and summarizing.
HRM599-A2-8 8. Clarity and Coherence of Writing Points Range:0 (0%) - 5.86 (3.45%) Information is confusing to the reader and fails to include reasons and evidence that logically support ideas. Points Range:5.95 (3.5%) - 6.72 (3.95%) Information is partially clear with minimal reasons and evidence that logically support ideas. Points Range:6.8 (4%) - 7.56 (4.45%) Information is mostly clear and generally supported with reasons and evidence that logically support ideas. Points Range:7.65 (4.5%) - 8.5 (5%) Information is provided in a clear, coherent, and consistent manner with reasons and evidence that logically support ideas.

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Running head STRATEGY, PLANNING, AND SELECTION .docx

  • 1.
    Running head: STRATEGY,PLANNING, AND SELECTION 1 STRATEGY, PLANNING, AND SELECTION 10 Strategy, Planning, and Selection STUENT NAME PROFESSOR COURSE# DATE Introduction As a director-level, Human Resource (HR) manager for the best- in-class “Holman Incorporation Company” this proposal will provide guidance and clarity regarding the current interview process regarding the strategy, planning and selection of new
  • 2.
    hires for thecompany. As a director-level HR manager, the aim is to build and sustain a competitive and profitable organization. Therefore, the focus as an HR manager is to emphasize on personnel, systems, and policies. They determine the benefits enjoyed by the workers in the firm, manage the recruitment process, development, and training of the new hires (Noe, Hollenbeck, Gerhart, & Wright, 2008). An additional focus for an HR manager is ensuring the company can achieve success utilizing highly qualified personnel. HR professionals organize the human capital for a specific firm and focus on the implementation of processes and policies within the firm (Noe et al., 2017). Strategies of the HRM Cost Leadership An HR manager should ensure that all operations within the organization are performed at the lowest cost possible. The production cost for goods or services within an organization should be reduced as much as possible. However, despite the reduction in production costs, the products may be provided to the customers at favorable and profitable prices. Thus, increasing sales and buffering organizational gains. In some cases, they may opt to keep costs low to ensure they maintain a competitive edge over the others in the market. Charging better rates or similar pricing for products as competitors implies that the profit margin of the firm will improve, whereas the competitors gain limited income/profit depending on their production cost incurred for products. However, things can be tricky if targeted customers question the low price of a given product compared to those of its competitors. Some people may even consider the goods and services as sub-standard, assume that the products are not reliable or legit and may not buy them. Thus, before considering this strategy, HR managers should be aware of the pros and cons of the idea (Noe et al., 2017). Therefore, HR managers should advise the organizational leadership on the proper measures to take when managing changes to avoid activities that may reduce
  • 3.
    profit for thecompany. Differentiation In this strategy, a firm puts in place measures to create an impression of difference in the mind of the potential consumer concerning the services and goods of a given organization. The customer is made to believe that the products are superior compared to those produced by other organizations. The feature of a particular product should be striking to all potential consumer. Potential buyers can identify these items quickly and perceive value each time they sight the logos and description of the products (Lussier & Hendon, 2019). For instance, Apple and Coca-Cola products are renowned all over the world, and customers consider their products to be of high quality. Product names should be strategically considered for easier identification and distinction to stand out from competitors’ products. Customers are willing to pay higher prices for products that they believe to be superior compared to those of the competitors. As an HR manager, differentiation may prove as a more viable option compared to the cost leadership. If strategically presented, differentiation can lead to continued success within an organization. However, inappropriate planning will decline any progress if the products appear as similar products being produced and made available in the industry. The perception of the customers about specific products can be changed without significantly changing the features as they can be persuaded that the products have what they desire and do not differentiate. Thus, assisting the sales and profit margins of the organization. Niche or Focus This strategy involves focusing on a given portion of the potential buyers within the market. The focus could be on an individual product line, regional market, or buyer group. After a particular section of the market is identified, the organization may then decide on a strategy to adopt either the cost leadership or differentiation. With acquiring the right approach, an organization can make massive gains in particular regions.
  • 4.
    Before a firmcan focus on the global market, they have to conquer the local market and ensure that its products are renowned in the immediate area (Noe et al., 2017). Partaking in different strategies and approaches, HR managers may select, recruit, interact, and evaluate the employees depending on the policy used within the organization. The competitors, objectives, and goals of the organization determine how the organization will operate. Human resource managers determine the personnel and required skillsets the organization will need to hire based on the goals and objectives of the organization. Besides, they should make arrangements for the measures to be used for maintaining the workers who are aware of the companies' targets (Lussier & Hendon, 2019). These employees are a vital part of the organization, and keeping them would save tremendously on the cost of hiring and training new employees. Therefore, the HR managers should be fully aware of the demands in the market so that they can enlighten management on the necessary strategies and the roles required of them. It is also the role of the HR managers to ensure that the right employees are hired in the organization with the motive to achieve the mission and purpose of the company at all times (Huselid, 2015). Job Design Approaches Every job design procedure composes of two approaches – complexity and impact. The complexity of a job design involves the decision-making ability and involvement of employees in multiple tasks (Lussier & Hendon, 2019). The impact dimension consists of leadership skills, rewards systems, working conditions, customer needs, team norms, and composition. Among the standard job design measures include: Job rotation Employees are assigned tasks across many departments throughout the organization to reduce complacency, boredom, and also to ensure they gain and maintain the skills required to properly function. As a result, an employee may develop skills to work in various departments throughout the organization. It
  • 5.
    is advantageous tomanagement for employees to obtain a wide range of skills to assist with scheduling, vacancies, and adopting changes. However, employees may not entirely favor this system due to insecurities, the scare of being replaceable, or job security within the workplace. Random rotation of the workers also disrupts the working, and thus, the employees cannot concentrate on a particular task (Lussier & Hendon, 2019). Job Engineering Job engineering involves setting the methods to use, the workflow of the employees, worker's layout, machines, and personnel. Job design procedures are determined based on time and motion. The method of operations is set based on the action started with, and the employees involved in each of the processes. However, employees should be aware of their required tasks; they must have the essential skills to ensure they perform the job adequately. Job Enlargement Organizations may require increased tasking to be performed by employees, in return, presenting employees with more responsibilities. For instance, the duties of an employee in the automobile industry are increased to include the roles of greasing, changing oil, and greasing. However, in this illustration, the tasks involved in the job enlargement are interrelated as opposed to the job rotation, where the worker performs different procedures within a different department (Huselid, 2015). Thus, the work becomes more advanced and exciting to the worker. Job Enrichment It merely implies adding motivation factors for production and performance efforts to be afforded to present better rewards to employees. Employees are given more power to make decisions, plan, and control the operations. Employees enjoy a better feedback system where their queries are addressed (Hamel,
  • 6.
    2008). Furthermore, employeesmay be presented the freedom to schedule his/her work based on the operations they are required to perform. With job enrichment, the procedure aims for improving personal satisfaction and efficiency (Lussier & Hendon, 2019). The responsibility of employees may increase, despite the freedoms bestowed to them, the production curve must be maintained, and thus, they have no room for failures. Recruitment Process When it comes to recruitment, organizations must incorporate the cost of hiring and training new employees. Therefore, HR managers within the organization must budget the expenses involved in hiring employees by determining the potential future demands for labor in the company. HR managers should provide the job specifications and description in detail to attract the most qualified personnel for the position. However, when there is an abundance of applicants submitting applications for a specific job, that will require many resources to sort through applicants. Hence the reason for a thorough description of the available position. Among the common challenges that firms face when recruiting new employees to include: Having the Best Candidates Acquiring the best candidates begins by defining the requirements for the available position, as well as the roles and responsibilities. The major challenge that the company may face is attracting the right applicants with the necessary qualifications. It is evident that many people are in search of jobs in different places across the world, but the skills they submit may not be befitting for the available position (Rosenzweig & Nohria, 1994). Therefore, the firm should also provide other requirements they consider as an added advantage for the applicants (Lussier & Hendon, 2019). For instance, pay, travel if required, technical skills, education level, and background checks, etc. Questionnaires, if necessary, during the application process, should be precise and specific such that the possibility of providing a response that is out of place is eliminated.
  • 7.
    Speed of Hiring Eachtime a vacancy occurs within an organization, it implies that they are facing added costs and delays in the operation. Thus, they are determined to hire a new employee as fast as possible to save on extra expenditures (Lussier & Hendon, 2019). However, depending on the industry, the hiring process may take months, consequently placing much weight on the shoulders of the hiring and recruiting teams. The length of time spent on gaining new employees can result in a lack of qualified individuals but in some cases may result from the lengthy and tedious procedures involve. Therefore, it is the responsibility of the HR managers to oversee the operations and advise management on the execution of the proper recruiting process. To speed up the hiring process, the organization should advertise availabilities on multiple platforms, for example, social media, newspapers, flyers, etc. Employee Selection System The worst that can happen in an organization is to hire the wrong person for a particular job based on fraudulent procedures or information. Therefore, an organization implementing the correct methods for selecting the best-fitted individuals for a position must ensure processes are continuously revised and maintained for accuracy in the selection of new employees. As positions evolve in your organizations, so should the selection processes (Tafero, 2012). Amongst essential aspects, organizations must understand the nature of the job for which they intend to have new employees (Tafero, 2012). Performance measures also assist with ensuring only the personnel who qualify for the job are hired. All individuals that have a role in managing the welfare of workers and retaining them should receive formal training on the necessities (Tafero, 2012). In most of the recruitments, interviews are involved, which requires interviewers to be knowledgeable of all requirements and qualifications. Interviewer training can be done using an effective online interviewer training program (Tafero, 2012).
  • 8.
    Conclusion Regarding Human ResourceManagement (HRM), personnel must have the necessary skills and knowledge to make the decisions involved. HRM is simply a strategic approach used to effectively manage people within an organization for the competitive advantage of the firm. Strategies are put in place to ensure maximum performance of every employee within an organization. Changes presented within an organization are orchestrated by HR managers; however, the duties and responsibilities of an HR manager may vary based on the operation of a particular organization. References Hamel, G. (2008). The future of management. Human Resource Management International Digest, 16(6). Huselid, M. A. (2015). The Impact of Human Resource Management Practices on Turnover, Productivity, and Corporate Financial Performance. Academy of Management Journal, 38(3), 635-672. Lussier, R. N., & Hendon, J. R. (2019). Human resource management functions, applications, and skill development. Los Angeles: SAGE. Noe, R. A., Hollenbeck, J. R., Gerhart, B., & Wright, P. M. (2017). Human Resource Management: Gaining a Competitive Advantage. New York, NY: Mcgraw-Hill Education. Rosenzweig, P. M., & Nohria, N. (1994). Influences on Human Resource Management Practices in Multinational Corporations. Journal of International Business Studies, 25(2), 229-251. doi:10.1057/palgrave.jibs.8490199 Tafero, T. (2012, January 3). 5 Tips for Designing an Effective Employee Selection System. Retrieved July 21, 2019, from https://blog.psionline.com/talent/bid/147051/5-Tips-for- Designing-an-Effective-Employee-Selection-System
  • 9.
    Reference: Lussier, R.N., & Hendon, J. R. (2019). Human resource management functions, applications, and skill development. Los Angeles: SAGE. 2. List and briefly discuss at least three (3) types or methods of training that can be used for employee training. Of the 3, which would you select to train the retail employees, and why? Be specific. Learning Styles As a last point in our review of the learning process, we need to briefly discuss various learning styles that people prefer to use. There are more than 70 learning style inventories available in the psychology literature and even some questionnaires that track learning style on the Internet.29 There is, however, disagreement concerning whether or not we should use preferred learning styles in designing training, including work- related training. Some of the recent research, including a study done by Dr. Beth Rogowsky and her colleagues, says that although we do have preferred learning styles, there is no evidence that receiving instruction in that preferred style allows us to learn any better than receiving instruction in another style.30 Others argue, though, that there is evidence that we learn better using individual preferred learning styles, if for no other reason than we are more comfortable with our preferred style.31,32 Despite the disagreement, it pays us to at least understand the issue of individual learning styles because there is no evidence that training using preferred learning styles harm the learning environment, and using individual preferred learning style may even help the trainee learn better. HRM training and development experts might want to continue to review this research over the next several years to see how it ultimately affects student learning though. Fleming learning styles One of the common learning style inventories, by Neil Fleming, provides three primary learner options. These three options
  • 10.
    are visual, auditory,and tactile learning.33 As you would think, visual learners prefer to have material provided in a visual format such as graphs and charts. Auditory learners, on the other hand, generally prefer to learn information based on hearing that information. Auditory learners tend to perform best in a historical classroom setting where the teacher stands in front of the class and teaches while the students passively listen. Finally, tactile learners prefer to learn by doing. Tactile learners want to physically perform a task in order to learn. Most of us use a mix of all three of the major learning styles. Therefore, a trainer should take each of the styles into account when creating a training program. You should realize that we provide multiple tactile-learning application and skill-building opportunities in this book. Which of the three options do you prefer when learning something? Kolb learning styles A more complex learning style inventory was developed by David Kolb.34 Kolb’s model is probably the most accepted of the learning style models in use today.35 To determine your preferred learning style, complete Self-Assessment 7-1. Design and Delivery of Training Recall that back in Chapter 1, we identified four important HRM skills: technical, human relations, conceptual and design (decision making), and business skills. Essentially, all of the training methods are used to develop specific skills that can be classified into one of these four skills categories. Once we have completed our needs assessment and selected how we plan to shape behavior, we are ready to complete step 3 of the training process: designing the training by selecting training methods and then delivering the training. So in this section, we will present which training methods to use based on which types of skills we are developing. Exhibit 7-3 presents the type of skills, the training methods appropriate for developing each skill, and descriptions of the training methods. LO 7-4 Discuss each of the major training delivery types.
  • 11.
    Before we actuallyconduct the training, in step 4, the HR department or other trainers also have to select the types of training delivery. The choice will depend to some extent on what information is being transferred, as well as on the options that are available to the particular organization. We also need to look at the best type of training to use in order to maximize transfer of knowledge while minimizing the cost of the training process. Each of the four training types has advantages and disadvantages that have to be understood to assign the correct option to a specific type of training program. In the next sections, we discuss our four options: on-the-job, classroom, distance, and simulation training. Work Application 7-10 Identify and describe the training method(s) used to train and develop you for a job you have or have had. On-the-Job Training (OJT) On-the-job training (OJT) is done at the work site with the resources the employee uses to perform the job. The manager, or an employee selected by the manager, usually conducts the training one-on-one with the trainee. Because of its proven record of success, job instructional training (JIT)—a specific type of on-the-job training—is a popular training type used worldwide. 7-3 Applying The Concept Training Methods For each of the training situations below, identify the most appropriate training method. Use the letters a through j from Exhibit 7-3 as your answers. · ____ 11. You want your customer service staff to do a better job of handling customer complaints. · ____ 12. Your large department has a high turnover rate, and new employees need to learn several rules and regulations to perform their jobs. · ____ 13. You need your new employees to learn how to handle the typical daily problems they will face on the job.
  • 12.
    · ____ 14.You need an employee to conduct an Internet search to find out more about a new product you want to buy for the department; you want a special report. · ____ 15. You want employees to be able to do each other’s job when they take vacations. · ____ 16. You want to improve your employees’ ability to sell products to customers in the store so that customers don’t end up leaving and buying the products online. · ____ 17. You need to prepare middle managers to advance to upper-level managers. You are considering having them run a simulated company getting quarterly results. Model 7-1 Job Instructional Training Steps Job Instructional Training (JIT) JIT has four steps, presented in Model 7-1 and described here. SHRM L:6 On-the-Job Training (OJT) Step 1: Preparation of the trainee Put the trainee at ease as you create interest in the job and encourage questions. Explain the task objectives and quantity and quality requirements, and discuss their importance. Step 2: Presentation of the task by the trainer Perform the task yourself slowly, explaining each step several times. Once the trainee seems to have the steps memorized, have the trainee explain each step as you perform the task. Prepare a written list of the steps in complex tasks and give a copy to the trainee. Step 3: Performance of the task by the trainee Have the trainee perform the task slowly while explaining each step. Correct any errors and be willing to help the trainee perform any difficult steps. Continue until the employee can perform the task proficiently. Step 4: Follow-up Tell the trainee who is available to provide help with any questions or problems. Gradually give the trainee more
  • 13.
    autonomy. Begin bychecking quality and quantity frequently; then decrease the amount of checking based on the trainee’s skill level. Watch the trainee perform the task and be sure to correct any errors or faulty work procedures before they become habits. Be patient and encouraging. Even though OJT is fairly expensive on a per-person basis, many organizations still use it heavily because of the fact that it works very well. See Exhibit 7-4 for the advantages and disadvantages of OJT. Employees are often given on-the-job training, especially in small businesses. John Lund/Marc Romanelli Classroom Training Our second training option is classroom training. Classroom training is also a common form of training in organizations. To accomplish classroom training, the organization will create a training course—including content, instruction methods, lesson plans, and instructor materials—and provide all these materials to a qualified instructor who will teach the class. Classroom training is generally very good for consistently transferring general knowledge or theories about a topic to a large number of people. It is generally not very good for teaching specific hands-on skills because of the passive nature of learning in a classroom. However, it is effective when using the same equipment that is used on the job. For example, many large banks have to train lots of tellers, and they conduct teller training in a classroom setting at headquarters, using an expert trainer so that the employees can go to the bank and actually begin work without any further trainingat the branch. Let’s do a quick review of some of the advantages and disadvantages of classroom training in Exhibit 7-5. Distance or E-Learning
  • 14.
    Our third optionis some form of distance learning—also called e-learning—in either a synchronous or an asynchronous format. Synchronous distance learning occurs when all of the trainees sign in to a particular Learning Management System (LMS) such as Blackboard or Moodle, or a corporate LMS, where their instructor then interacts with them and teaches the topics for the day. In contrast, asynchronous distance learning is a process in which the student can sign in to the training site at any point in time, and materials are available for their studies. The instructor may or may not be online at the same time as the student, but there’s no dedicated connection between the two for the purpose of teaching the information. In many cases today, the student does not have to work through an LMS. They can learn using any number of free or low-cost apps for training in just about any field. Distance learning, similar to classroom training, is valuable for teaching basic concepts and providing general information on the topic. There’s typically even less interaction between an instructor and trainees in this form than in classroom training. Let’s analyze some of the advantages and disadvantages of distance learning in Exhibit 7-6. Self-directed learning is a specific kind of distance learning. In self-directed learning, individuals go completely at their own pace, and they are able to study whatever aspects of the topic they think they need to study to be successful while leaving other parts of the training uncompleted. Massively Open Online Courses, or MOOCs, are primarily self-directed learning. Self- directed training tends to have all of the potential advantages and disadvantages of other forms of distance learning. The most significant issue in self-directed learning tends to be the fact that if individuals are not motivated to learn on their own, they will be unsuccessful because nobody else is going to follow their progress and push them to complete the training.
  • 15.
    Reference: Lussier, R.N., & Hendon, J. R. (2019). Human resource management functions, applications, and skill development. Los Angeles: SAGE. 1. Critically analyze and discuss any researched (web or textbook) training process model you may consider for use in developing employees (here’s an idea: https://educationaltechnology.net/the-addie-model- instructional-design/ or exhibit 7-1, page 230 in the text book). Then, identify and discuss some possible challenges that might be faced in implementing a new training process in the company. TrainingSHRM L:11 The Role of Training in Succession Planning Many 21st century organizations have rigorous development programs that include job rotation to various departments within the organization, classroom and on-the-job training, assigned mentors, and many other programs–all of which are designed to train employees and develop their capabilities for future use within the firm. Organizations that neglect succession processes and employee development can find themselves at a competitive disadvantage when senior personnel leave the firm through either retirement or resignation. It is critical that HR lead the process of planning for succession and employee development. Although in this chapter we will focus more on training than development (there are five major sections explaining training, followed by one section on employee development), both are important to the organization over the long term. The Training Process and Needs Assessment How are we going to go about training our employees? How do we know who needs what training, in what forms, and at what point? How do we determine whether or not the employee is ready and willing to participate in the training? Finally, how do
  • 16.
    we know thatthe training was effective? In order to answer these questions, we have to plan our training processes very carefully. We need to look at what’s currently going on in the organization and how that differs from what needs to happen in the future to accomplish our strategic business goals. So training and development are another set of strategic HRM tasks. Once we do this, we can analyze the types of training that will be necessary to build new knowledge, skills, and abilities for our workforce. Steps in the Training Process This chapter is primarily organized to follow the steps in the training process. Let’s take a look at how we go through the training process in Exhibit 7-1. We’ll follow that up with a brief discussion of the steps and then provide more detail throughout the chapter. Step 1: Assessing needs We conduct a needs assessment to determine what training is necessary to improve performance. We will discuss this step in this section. Exhibit 7-1 The Training Process Step 2: Selecting how to shape behavior We select a method of shaping employee behavior based on learning theories so that we can change employee behavior to improve performance. We will discuss this step in this chapter’s section “Learning and Shaping Behavior.” Step 3: Designing training We design the training and development based on the needs assessment. We must determine which training methods we will use to shape employee behavior. We discuss this step in this chapter’s section “Design and Delivery of Training.” Step 4: Delivering training Before we actually conduct the training and development, we must select the delivery method. We also discuss the delivery
  • 17.
    options in thesection “Design and Delivery of Training.” Step 5: Assessing training After we complete the training, our last step is to assess how effective the training was at developing the needed skills. We do this by determining our success at shaping behavior. We discuss this step in this chapter’s section “Assessing Training.” SHRM Q:4 Equipping the Organization for Present and Future Talent Needs Interrelationship of the Training Process Steps Note in Exhibit 7-1 that each of steps 2, 3, 4, and 5 has a double-headed arrow; this is because all the steps are so closely related and based on each other that they are commonly planned together before actually delivering the training. In other words, you are constantly thinking ahead and behind your current step in the training process. If the assessment of the training reveals that the behavior has not been shaped (changed) as needed, we may have to go back to step 1 and start the training process again. SHRM E:5, L:1 Needs Assessment Needs Assessment The first major step in the training process, and probably one of the most important, is the needs assessment. A needs assessmentis the process of analyzing the difference between what is currently occurring within a job or jobs and what is required—either now or in the future—based on the organization’s operations and strategic goals. If a needs assessment is not done correctly, a training course may be poorly designed, or it may cover the wrong information. The wrong employees may be asked to participate in the training, or they may not yet be capable of absorbing the information in the training because of a lack of a knowledge base or skill set. We may end up creating a training program that’s unnecessary, or we may fail to determine that an issue is based on poor
  • 18.
    performance rather thanlack of knowledge. These are significant issues that we can avoid if we correctly go through the process of a needs assessment. Needs assessment The process of analyzing the difference between what is currently occurring within a job or jobs and what is required— either now or in the future—based on the organization’s operations and strategic goals Similar to those good physicians and automobile mechanics that we just mentioned, organizational managers have to diagnose what may currently be wrong with a process so that they can successfully repair and/or tune the process up. If they don’t do the diagnosis correctly, managers may create training solutions that don’t solve the existing problem. So the manager has to go through a process of identifying where in a current sequence of events things are not working the way they should, or how they can be done more efficiently. Only by diligently going through the process of looking at that chain of events in the status quo can a manager identify where the process can be changed to improve organizational productivity and reach the organization’s goals. Challenges to the Training Process As part of the needs assessment and in order to design training appropriately, we need to identify and discuss some common challenges to the training process. These include minimally prepared or unprepared workers, difficulty in identifying the return on investment provided from training, employee resistance to change and feelings of insecurity, matching the training to the strategic goals of the organization, and logistics issues—including scheduling and making locations available for training courses. Managers have to work through each of these challenges in order for training programs to be successful. Work Application 7-3 Do a simple needs assessment for a job you have or had. Be sure to state the competency model (knowledge, skills, and abilities) it takes to do the job. Unprepared Workforce
  • 19.
    One of themost significant challenges to work process training is the fact that so many of the individuals being hired into the workforce are ill prepared in the educational basics, including reading and math skills. As we noted in Chapter 6, employers continue to hire substantial numbers of new entrants who have significant education but poor work skills, requiring additional company investment to improve workforce readiness.24 In cases where the employees don’t have the basic skills necessary to succeed, the organization must train them in those basic skill sets before they can be taught the advanced skills necessary to improve organizational processes. Return on Investment/Cost Justification Businesses today are naturally concerned with the return that they get from any corporate investment. Training is time- consuming and expensive,25and it is no different from any other investment. Executives expect and, in fact, require that training provide a positive return on investment (ROI). HR managers have become more familiar with the ROI calculation discussed in Chapter 2, and they use it to provide justification for the financial cost of training programs. Work Application 7-4 Think about the people you have worked with. What is your perception of the preparation they have had for the workforce? Resistance to Change and Employee Insecurity Since this is not a change management text, suffice it to say that virtually all individuals resist changes to their routine. They resist for a variety of reasons—including insecurity, based on their concern that they may not be able to successfully adapt to the change in some way. This insecurity leads to resistance to change, and it can cause significant difficulty in the training process. Management must overcome resistance to change exhibited by the workers so that training can be successful. Work Application 7-5 Think about the people you have worked with. What is your perception of their resistance to changes in their work routine? Strategic Congruence
  • 20.
    Strategic congruence isanother challenge to the training process. One of the most critical requirements in corporate training programs is the need to ensure that the training furthers the strategic goals of the organization. Any training program that does not aim squarely at the strategic goals of the organization is difficult to justify in a corporate environment. As HR managers, we have to ensure that our training and development programs help to carry out the organization’s strategy over the long term. Scheduling The last of our common challenges, scheduling, involves both the timing and the location of the training. As with most things, there’s never an ideal time to schedule a training course, especially if it runs for several days or even weeks. The trainees have to leave their regular jobs undone for the period of the training, and the organization has to be able to operate without those trainees performing their normal tasks. In addition, the training may require the use of physical locations that have special equipment or tools and that are available only for limited time periods during the year. These logistics issues may seem minimal, but they frequently create significant problems for the HR department in scheduling training courses. Reference: Lussier, R. N., & Hendon, J. R. (2019). Human resource management functions, applications, and skill development. Los Angeles: SAGE. 3. Differentiate the concept of performance management and performance appraisal with three (3) to four (4) key points. Then, make your case to leadership for or against using annual performance appraisals in the organization. Be specific with your perspective. Performance Management Systems After we have recruited, selected, and trained employees, we
  • 21.
    must evaluate howwell they perform their jobs so they know how they are doing. Therefore, performance evaluation is an important part of the jobs of managers and HRM staff.1 We need to figure out how to manage employees’ performance over time to ensure that they remain productive and hopefully become even more capable as they progress in their careers. So the primary purpose of performance appraisal should be to help employees to continuously improve their performance.2 Remember our earlier discussion about the fact that human resources are typically one of the few resources we can leverage to create a sustainable competitive advantage for the firm. To this end, we discuss in this section the difference between performance management and performance appraisal, and we present the performance appraisal process. LO 8-1 Discuss the difference between performance management and performance appraisals. Performance Management Versus Performance Appraisal “In a knowledge economy, organizations rely heavily on their intangible assets to build value. Consequently, performance management at the individual employee level is essential and the business case for implementing a system to measure and improve employee performance is strong.”3Committing management time and effort to increase performance not only meets this goal but also decreases turnover rates.4 SHRM Q:5 Improving Organizational Effectiveness How do we manage performance within the organization? The most common part of the process, and the one with which we are most familiar, is the performance appraisal, or evaluation. (In this chapter, we will use the terms performance evaluation, performance appraisal, and just appraisalinterchangeably.) However,
  • 22.
    the performance appraisalprocess is not the only thing that’s done in performance management. Performance managementis the process of identifying, measuring, managing, and developing the performance of the human resources in an organization. Basically we are trying to figure out how well employees perform and then ultimately improve that performance level. When used correctly, performance management is a systematic analysis and measurement of worker performance (and communication of that assessment to the individual) that we use to improve performance over time. SHRM E:4 Performance Management (Performance Criteria and Appraisal) SHRM Q:9 Ongoing Performance and Productivity Initiatives Performance appraisal, on the other hand, is the ongoing process of evaluating employee performance. Notice that it is an ongoing process. Employees need regular feedback on their performance,5 so we should give them routine and candid assessments.6 New tools that we will discuss shortly are allowing us to do this much more efficiently. Performance appraisals are reviews of employee performance over time, so appraisal is just one piece of performance management. Although we will spend most of the chapter discussing performance appraisals, there are several significant pieces to performance management that we have already covered in past chapters and others that we will cover in future chapters. We discussed “strategic planning,” which provides inputs into what we want to evaluate in our performance management system, in Chapter 2. We also discussed the major method of identifying performance requirements in a particular job when we went through “job analysis and design” in Chapter 4. In Chapter 7, we discussed “training and development,” which obviously plays a part in performance management.
  • 23.
    Additionally, we willdiscuss motivating employees, coaching and counseling, employee relations, compensation, and other pieces in Chapters 9 through 14. Now that we understand the difference between performance management and performance appraisal, let’s look at the performance appraisal issue in more detail. Netflix is one company that has stopped doing formal performance appraisals. Ryan Anson/AFP/Getty Images Is It Time to Delete the Annual Appraisal Process? It is worth noting right at the beginning that many people in organizations do not like performance appraisal systems and think that these systems do not have the ability to improve employee performance. One study even noted that 95% of managers are dissatisfied with their performance management system and 90% of HR managers believe the system does not yield accurate performance information!7 Routinely, there are calls to do away with performance appraisal processes.8Netflix is one company that has completely stopped doing formal performance appraisals, even though the CEO noted that “excellent colleagues trump everything else.”9 (Netflix still does complete informal 360-degree appraisals. We will introduce you to these shortly.) So why does this process continue to be used by most major organizations? Performance management The process of identifying, measuring, managing, and developing the performance of the human resources in an organization Performance appraisal The ongoing process of evaluating employee performance In the past three or four years, it would seem to the average HR manager that there has been a never-ending line of companies that have decided to dump their annual performance appraisals. In addition to Netflix, a list of Fortune 500 companies like Deloitte, Adobe Systems, GE, PwC,10 and SAP11 have
  • 24.
    trashed their annualappraisal approaches. Looking at all of the articles written about dumping appraisals, the natural question would be, “Why are we studying this if it is going away?” The quickest answer is that it isn’t quite gone yet and probably won’t be for some time—if ever. Based on a number of different surveys in the past couple of years, around 10 to 15% of companies have decided to stop using annual reviews. The numbers were about 6% of Fortune 500 companies in 201512 and about 12% to 15% in 2017,13 which leaves around 85% of those companies and many other smaller firms still using annual evaluations. Why hasn’t the rest of the business world let go of this relic of the industrial age if it doesn’t work like it needs to? Again, the quick answer is that there is valuable information that is gained from the process; and the latest online, app-based, and/or social options have not gotten to the point yet where they can provide all of the same valuable information. “The documentation that traditional appraisals produce is a business necessity. The data collected . . . allows the organization to make important decision in a whole host of business areas.”14 So one of the most valuable reasons for performance appraisals is to provide information for making good management decisions; and if we don’t have that information, decisions become more difficult and dangerous. In addition, at least some research shows that deleting the performance appraisal does not automatically make the organization better, and may make it worse. Research by CEB showed that “[a]t firms where reviews had been eliminated, measures of employee engagement and performance dropped by 10%. . . . Managers actually spent less time on conversations, and the quality of those conversations declined.”15 But new ideas for some form of routine or continuous technology-based appraisal and feedback (often called “check- ins” by the firms) have proliferated over the recent past,16 with dozens if not hundreds of tech companies now offering apps or other software solutions17 to provide companies with the ability
  • 25.
    to give allemployees constant feedback. For obvious reasons, this continuous appraisal seems to be more common in organizations that are less traditional and bureaucratic, and that are more comfortable with technology solutions. We spoke about Zappos’s holacracy earlier. Zappos is trying to use holistic feedback from all sides (a massive 360-degree evaluation) in order to evaluate its employees and encourage creativity and innovation. Still, we have to struggle with a significant problem: Organizations legitimately use periodic appraisals to make good decisions about their employees and employee development.18 If performance appraisals are not completed, the organization doesn’t have valid and reliable information about its human resources; and therefore it has no ability to make good decisions about things such as training, promotions, and pay raises. Because of this major issue, it is unlikely that most organizations will hit the delete button on their annual appraisal process until the newer technologies have been proven capable of defending the organization from claims of employment discrimination. Work Application 8-1 Select a job you have or have had. Do you or did you know the organization’s mission and objectives? Briefly state the mission. If you don’t know it, find out. Do you understand how your job fits or helps to meet the organization’s mission and objectives? Explain in some detail. Performance Appraisals Let’s take a look now at the performance appraisal process in Exhibit 8-1. Note the connection between the organization’s mission and objectives and the performance appraisal process. Here we briefly discuss each step of the process. Step 1: Job analysis This is logically our first step because if we don’t know what a job consists of, how can we possibly evaluate an employee’s performance in that job? We already learned how to do a job analysis in Chapter 4, but as shown in Exhibit 8-1, we
  • 26.
    should realize thatthe job must be based on the organizational mission and objectives, the department, and the job itself. Step 2: Develop standards and measurement methods If we don’t have standards of acceptable behavior and methods of measuring performance, how can we assess that performance? We will discuss performance measurement methods in the next part of this section; and in the section “How Do We Use Appraisal Methods and Forms?” we will discuss these topics in more detail. Step 3: Informal performance appraisal—Coaching and disciplining Performance appraisal should not be simply a once- or twice-a- year formal interview. As its definition states, performance appraisal is an ongoing process. While a formal evaluation may take place only once or twice a year, people need regular feedback on their performance to know how they are doing.19 We will briefly discuss coaching in the “Critical Incidents Method” subsection of “How Do We Use Appraisal Methods and Forms?” and we will discuss it in more detail in the next chapter. Exhibit 8-1 The Performance Appraisal Process Step 4: Prepare for and conduct the formal performance appraisal The common practice is to have a formal performance review with the boss once or sometimes twice a year, using one or more of the measurement forms we will be learning about. Later in this chapter, we will discuss the steps involved in preparing for and conducting the performance appraisal. In the chapter sections to come, we discuss why we assess performance, what we assess, how we assess it, and who conducts the performanceappraisal. Then we discuss performance appraisal problems and how to avoid them, and we end the performance appraisal process with the actual formal review session. But before we leave this section, we need to understand a critically important part of each step in
  • 27.
    the performance appraisalprocess: accurate performance measurement. Accurate Performance Measures To effectively assess performance, we need to have clear standards for and methods of measuring performance.20 The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) has outlined the minimum required elements of a performance management system for goal setting, performance review, and performance improvement plans.21 For details, visit the ANSI website at http://www.ansi.org. We need accurate standards and measures of employee performance both to effectively assess performance and to let employees know where they can improve.22 This in turn should lead to training employees to develop the new skills they need to improve their performance.23 Also, to be an accurate measure of performance, our measure must be valid, reliable, acceptable and feasible, specific, and based on the mission and objectives. Let’s discuss each of those requirements here. Valid and Reliable As in all areas of our people management process, we must do our best to make sure that all of our performance management tools are valid and reliable. Here again, we can pull out and dust off the OUCH test as a quick way to ensure fairness and equity in the performance management and appraisal process. We remember by now that OUCH stands for Objective, Uniform in application, Consistent in effect, and Has job relatedness. However, we still need to analyze validity and reliability in some detail. We have to create valid and reliable measurement to be accurate. Recall that we discussed reliability and validity in Chapter 4 and Chapter 6. Validmeans that a measure is true and correct; a valid measure is a factual one that measures the process that you wanted to measure. Reliable means the measure is consistent; it works in generally the same way each time we
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    use it.24 Acceptable andFeasible In addition to validity and reliability, we need to look at a couple of other characteristics of our performance measures— acceptability and feasibility.25Acceptability means that the use of the measure is satisfactory or appropriate to the people who must use it. However, in performance appraisal, this isn’t enough. To be acceptable, an evaluation tool must also be feasible. Is it possible to reasonably apply the evaluation tool in a particular case, or is it too complex or lengthy to work well? As an example, if the performance evaluation form is two or three pages long and covers the major aspects of the job that is being evaluated, and if managers and employees both believe that the form truly evaluates performance measures that identify success on the job, then managers and employees are likely to feel that the tool is acceptable and feasible to use. However, if the manager must fill out a 25-page form that has very little to do with the job being evaluated, the manager may not feel that the form is acceptable or feasible, at least partially due to its length, even if the employees do. Conversely, if the manager fills out a two-page evaluation that they feel is a true measure of performance in an employee’s job, but the employee feels that the evaluation leaves out large segments of what is done in the work routine, the employee may not feel that the form is acceptable and feasible. If either management or employees feel that the form is unacceptable, it most likely will not be used correctly. (This would also mean that the person would not see the evaluation as a valid measure.26) And as we saw in the section on deleting the performance appraisal process, many managers and employees do not currently see their appraisal process as acceptable and feasible—a significant problem with the process. Work Application 8-2 Assess the accuracy of the measurements of your performance on your last performance appraisal. Be sure to describe the measures’ validity, reliability, acceptability, and
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    feasibility, plus whetherthe measures were specific and based on the organization’s mission and objectives. Specific The evaluation measure must be specific enough to identify what is going well and what is not. The word specific means that something is explicitly identified or defined well enough that all involved completely understand the issue. In performance appraisals, a specific form provides enough information for everyone to understand what level of performance has been achieved by a particular employee within a well-identified job. Creating specific measures is the only way to use a performance appraisal to improve the performance of employees over time. The employees have to understand what they are and are not doing successfully. Many times, evaluation forms may be too general in nature to be of value for modifying employee behaviors because we want the form to serve for a large number of different types of jobs. This can create significant problems in the performance appraisal process. Based on the Mission and Objectives Finally, you want to make sure that your performance management system leads to the accomplishment of your organizational mission and objectives. As with everything else we do in HR, we need to ensure that the performance management process guides our employees toward achievement of the company’s mission and objectives over time. As managers, making sure of this connection will allow us to reinforce employee behaviors that aim at achieving organizational goals, and it will also allow us to identify for our employees things that they may be doing that actively or unintentionally harm our ability to reach those goals. Thus, stating specific objectives saying exactly what each person in each job should achieve, or their performance outcomes, leads to accurate assessment that can increase performance. For some examples of inaccurate measures of performance, complete Applying the Concept 8-1.
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    8-1 Applying TheConcept Measurement Accuracy Before each of the situation descriptions below, write the letter corresponding to the accuracy criterion for a measure that is NOT met in the situation. 1. valid 2. reliable 3. accepted 4. feasible 5. specific 6. based on the mission and objectives · ____ 1. My boss is on my case because I’m not producing as much as I used to. But it’s not my fault that the machine jams more often and then I have to stop working to fix it. · ____ 2. My boss said I have to evaluate all 25 of my employees four times a year instead of only once. I told her I don’t have the time to do it that many times. It’s just not possible to do a good review that often without cutting back on other things that are more important. · ____ 3. My boss said I have a bad attitude and gave me a lower overall performance rating. I questioned what my attitude had to do with my performance because I get all my work done well, and by the deadline. · ____ 4. My boss asked me to complete a self-evaluation form rating my performance. But I didn’t do it because it is her job— I let her do it. · ____ 5. My boss told me that I was not doing a very good job. But when I asked him why, he never gave me any details to support his assessment. Good answer. Why Do We Conduct Performance Appraisals? As you can already see, the appraisal process gets to be extremely complicated very quickly. And remember, anytime that a process in an organization is complicated, it is going to cost a lot of money. So what’s the value provided to the organization and to the individual that makes the process of evaluating the performance of our workers so critical?
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    LO 8-2 List andbriefly discuss the purposes of performance appraisals. If performance appraisals are done in the correct manner, they can provide us with a series of valuable results. However, if not done correctly, evaluating employee performance can actually lead to lower levels of job satisfaction and productivity. Let’s discuss three major reasons (communicating, decision making, and motivating) why performance evaluations are completed and why they are so critical to continually improving organizational performance.27 Communication (Informing) The first major reason for performance appraisals is to provide an opportunity for formal communication between management and the employees concerning how the organization believes each employee is performing. All of us know intuitively that successful communication requires two- way interaction between people. “Organizations can prevent or remedy the majority of performance problems by ensuring that two-way conversations occur between managers and employees, resulting in a complete understanding of what is required, when it is required, and how everyone’s contribution measures up.”28 Communication always requires that employees have the opportunity and ability to provide feedback to their bosses in order to make sure that their communication is understood. So in performance appraisals, the communication process requires that we as managers communicate with the employee to provide them with information about how we believe they’re doing in their job. However, the process also requires that we provide the opportunity for the employee to speak to us concerning factors that inhibit their ability to successfully perform to expectations. Factors in a job that management may not know about can include lack of training, poorly maintained equipment, lack of necessary tools, conflict within work groups, and many other things that management may not see on a daily basis. If the communication component of the performanceappraisal process
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    does not allowfor this two-way communication, managers may not know of the obstacles that the employee has to overcome. We can resolve problems only when we know about them. So as managers, we need to communicate with our employees to find out when issues within the work environment are causing a loss of productivity so we can fix them. Thus, two-way communication is a critical component of correcting problems through the performance appraisal process. Decision Making (Evaluating) The second major purpose of performance appraisal is to allow management to make decisions about employees within the organization. We need to make decisions based on the information we get from our communication. Accurate information is necessary for management decision making and is absolutely critical to allow the manager to improve organizational productivity.29 We use information from annual performance appraisals to make evaluative decisions concerning our workforce, including such things as pay raises, promotions, demotions, training and development, and termination. When we have valid and reliable information concerning each individual within our division or department, we have the ability to make administrative and performance decisions that can enhance productivity for the firm. If, for instance, through the process of coaching (the third step of the performance appraisal process), we find that several machine operators are having trouble keeping their equipment in working order, then that information would quite likely lead to a needs assessment (as discussed in Chapter 7) to determine whether or not maintenance training is necessary for our group of operators. Without our rigorous evaluation process, we might not learn of this common problem in a timely fashion, and the result could be significant damage to very expensive equipment. This and similar types of information frequently come to the forefront as we go through the performance appraisal process. Therefore, decision making based on good communication is a
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    very large partof why we take the time to do annual performance appraisals. Motivation (Engaging) The third major purpose of performance appraisals is to motivate our employees to improve the way they work, which in turn will improve organizational productivity overall.30 But what is motivation, and are performance appraisals normally motivational? We define motivation here as the willingness to achieve organizational objectives. We want to create this willingness to achieve the organization’s objectives, which will in turn increase organizational productivity. HRM in Action Performance Appraisal SHRM H:7 Managing Performance Our evaluative decisions should lead to development of employees. Returning to the above example of the machine operators having trouble keeping their equipment in working order, making the decision to train employees leads to their development, which then improves their individual performance, as well as better utilizing organizational resources. Motivation The willingness to achieve organizational objectives Evaluating and Motivating = Development An effective performance appraisal process has two parts— evaluating and motivating—and it does both parts well. Evaluating is about assessing pastperformance, and motivating is about developing employees to improve their future performance. But are both parts done well? Have you ever been in a position of being evaluated and debriefed as an employee? Was the process motivational? Most of us would probably reply no. Think about that appraisal process and how it was carried out. Here we discuss problems with evaluation and how to overcome them, as well as how to motivate employees.
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    We also suggestseparating formal assessment meetings designed to evaluate or motivate. Problems in Evaluation A common problem in appraisals is overpowering an employee during the evaluation debrief with large amounts of negative information that they have not heard during coaching. This tends to cause the employee to “turn off” or stop listening as the manager explains what is wrong. Employees will just “raise their shields” to ward off all of the negative information. This is a natural human trait. We are naturally suspicious of negative information for a variety of psychological reasons (i.e., defensive mechanisms), so when we are presented with a large amount of negative information, we tend to discount or even disbelieve it. Therefore, employees in such situations may consider the process unfair or one-sided and not an accurate measure of their performance (not acceptable), and as a result, the evaluation may become useless as a motivator that develops the employee. Avoiding Problems in Evaluation To help overcome this problem during employee evaluations, an effective manager who is a good coach will generally never identify a weakness that the employee has not previously been made aware of during the formal appraisal interview. This is the key to making the appraisal acceptable to the employee. In other words, there are no surprises in a well-run evaluation. The evaluative part of the appraisal should be a review only of what the employee already knows and should be willing hear because they have been coached on their performance throughout the evaluation period. However, avoiding surprises is not enough.31 The appraisal debrief must be a well-rounded look at the individual employee, and it should identify both positive and negative (specific) factors in the employee’s behaviors and results within the job (and remember, the communication needs to be two-way). As the manager, we want to tell the employees what they did right but also where they have room for improvement. This more
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    balanced approach tothe debriefing process will minimize the risk that the employee will raise those shields and avoid listening. Motivating Development An important part of development is the need for managers to provide motivational opportunities for the employees to improve their performance over time. In other words, we need to tell them how to fix their own problems. We need to provide them with tools, training, or other methods that will allow them to improve to the point where their behavior is sufficient. Then, we must continually strive to get them to perform at an above- average level and ultimately become superior performers, helping them along the way through ongoing coaching between formal reviews. If we provide employees with tools that allow them to improve over time, we’re not focusing on negative past results but on positive future potential results.32 If employees are given an honest opportunity to fix something that they know is a problem and are given the necessary tools or training, most will take advantage of that opportunity. So performance appraisals can be motivational if they are properly used and debriefed. Work Application 8-3 Assess the effectiveness of an evaluative performance appraisal you had. Did the manager present both positive and negative performance areas? Did you really listen? Were there any surprises? Explain any problems and how the evaluation could be improved. Separating Evaluation and Development To improve both parts of the performance appraisal, we suggest splitting the debriefing into two separate interviews. The first meeting is to evaluate the employee’s past performance, pointing out strengths and areas for improvement; the employee is asked to think about how to improve performance. At the second meeting, manager and employee jointly come up with a developmental plan that should lead to increased performance, which in turn will result in a higher future evaluative rating
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    during the nextformal appraisal. We will discuss how to conduct the two separate interviews in the “Debriefing the Appraisal” section of this chapter. What Do We Assess? Now that we know why we conduct performance appraisals, the next step is to figure out what needs to be evaluated. In other words, we have to decide what aspects of the individual and their performance we’re going to measure. Discovering the best options for what to evaluate would come from analyzing the essential functions and qualifications required for a particular job, or in HR terms, our job analysis. We could then use these facts to design an appraisal instrument that uses measurable and observable factors to evaluate performance.33 However, we can’t evaluate everything that is done over the course of the year. We have to choose what we will focus on because what gets measured, and evaluated, gets done.34 Our three primary options for what to evaluate are traits, behaviors, and results. LO 8-3 Identify and briefly discuss the options for what to evaluate in a performance appraisal. Trait Appraisals Traitsidentify the physical or psychological characteristics of a person. Traits of an individual can be part of the performance appraisal process. There is evidence that traits such as inquisitiveness, conscientiousness, and general cognitive ability are valuable in jobs that require management and leadership skills.35,36 However, we must ensure that we focus on traits that have a direct relationship to the essential functions of the job, that they are within the control of the individual, and that they are accurate measures. Can we accurately measure traits that affect job performance, can trait measures pass the OUCH test, are traits commonly measured, and should we measure traits as part of our performance appraisal process? Here we answer these questions, and we will answer these same questions for our behavior and results options.
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    Can We AccuratelyMeasure Traits That Affect Job Performance? Many traits that most of us would be likely to focus on—such as physical attractiveness, height, and extroversion—actually have been shown to have very little bearing on job performance in most cases. If we’re going to use traits in performance evaluation, we must ensure that we focus on traits that have a direct relationship to the essential functions of the job being done, and they have to be accurate measures. Is using trait-based evaluation a good method of judging work performance? How many of us would want to have judgments made about our work based on our appearance or personality? Would you consider this to be a valid and reliable measure of your work performance? In most cases, it’s very difficult to show that personal traits are valid and reliable measures of work performance. Give Traits the OUCH Test Let’s take a look at trait-based measurements using the OUCH test. Is a physical characteristic such as height or a psychological characteristic such as cheerfulness, work ethic, or enthusiasm an objective measure of an individual’s work performance? We would have great difficulty in creating a quantifiable and factual link between height or enthusiasm and job performance. So when measuring traits, it’s difficult to meet the objectiverequirement of the OUCH test. If we utilized these trait-based measures in all cases in employee evaluations, we would be able to meet the uniform in application requirement of the OUCH test. The third test— consistent in effect—would likely be extremely difficult to meet due to the fact that different racial, ethnic, social, and gender groups tend to have different physical and psychological characteristics. Remember, reliability is a measure of consistency. Physical and personality characteristics have less to do with success in the job than certain behaviors do. So it’s difficult to meet the has job relatedness test in most cases. Finally, it would be very difficult to get different supervisors to
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    evaluate subjective traitsthe same, because of their own personality traits. Traits The physical or psychological characteristics of a person Are Traits Commonly Used to Measure Performance? Surprisingly, if you go to the local office supply store and look at standard evaluation forms that are available in preprinted pads, you will find that they usually list many traits as part of the evaluation. Why would this be the case? The simple answer is that at least some traits, both physical and psychological, are fairly easy to identify and we assume that they are related to how the individual will perform on the job. Many of us, individually and as managers, value certain things like enthusiasm, even if enthusiasm has very little to do with the ability to do a particular job or the actual results of job performance. Certainly, there are some jobs where enthusiasm is critical. However, being an enthusiastic employee may have very little to do with success in the job, so if we evaluate individuals based on the characteristic of enthusiasm, we might make an error in judgment concerning their performance. And if we make errors in analyzing the performance of our employees, the appraisal form becomes less valid and reliable and much less acceptable to both the individual employee and management. Finally, if our organization happened to be sued by a former employee who claimed that they were fired based on an appraisal process that was unreliable and not valid, it would be very difficult to defend trait-based evaluation forms due to their subjective nature. Should We Measure Traits? Author Ken Blanchard said that there are too many evaluation items that can’t be objectively measured—such as attitude, initiative, and promotability. Therefore, it’s important to ask whether both managers and employees will agree with the measured rating as being accurate. The bottom-line test (we will call it the Blanchard test) is this: Does everyone understand
  • 39.
    why they areassessed at a specific level (evaluation) and what it takes to get a higher rating (development)?37 We should assess only traits that meet the bottom-line test of having a direct and obvious objective relationship between the trait and success in the job. Behavioral Appraisals Our second option in the assessment process is to evaluate employees based on behaviors. You will recall that behaviorsare simply the actions taken by an individual—the things that they do and say. Behavioral appraisals measure what individuals do at work, not their personal characteristics. Is this a good option to use in a performance appraisal process? Can We Accurately Measure Behaviors That Affect Job Performance? As a general rule, it is much better to use behaviors in an appraisal than it is to use traits. While an individual supervisor or manager may make a mistake in judgment about the traits of an employee, physical actions or behaviors can be directly observed; and as a result, they are more likely to be a valid assessment of the individual’s performance. Give Behavior the OUCH Test Let’s take a look at a behavioral evaluation using the OUCH test. Would an evaluation based on actions taken by an employee be objective? In general, directly observing and evaluating an action is significantly more objective than making an attempt to judge a trait like individual effort. If we applied the same evaluation of behaviors to all of the individuals in the same type of job, we would have a reasonable certainty that we were being uniform in application. The same thing would be true here in evaluating the concept of consistent in effect. Behaviors The actions taken by an individual So, it comes down to whether or not a behavior-based evaluation has job relatedness. Would a behavioral evaluation be directly related to the essential functions of a job? The answer is that it would be if we made sure that we chose behaviors that were necessarily a part of successfully
  • 40.
    accomplishing a task.For instance, if we determine that a person acts correctly in filling out a requisition form, putting the proper information in the correct blocks, and providing the requisition to the appropriate person who would then order the material, then we are assessing behaviors that are job related. If, however, we evaluated the action of walking to the lunchroom and walking back to one’s workstation, would we be measuring a valid job-related behavior? The answer is more than likely no. Of course, this is a silly example, but it should help you understand that no matter what we do in the evaluation process, we need to ensure that our actions are job related. OK, but would behavioral evaluations be defensible in the situation of our fired employee above? Would it be possible for us to show that our evaluation process was valid and reliable? If we choose to measure job-related behaviors, it becomes much easier for the organization to defend the validity and reliability of the appraisal process. Observation of actions that are directly related to a job would provide at least some presumption of validity as well as reliability, purely because the behaviors are directly job related. Again, if we chose behaviors that could not be directly associated with the job, the validity and reliability of the measures would be suspect. Should We Measure Behavior? Are behaviors that measure performance more acceptable to the individual employee and the managers than personal traits? In fact, evidence shows that most individuals are very comfortable with the evaluation of their performance being based on “what they do,” not “who they are.” In general, the most useful and therefore most acceptable feedback to employees is feedback on specific job-related behaviors.38 As managers, though, we still need to be cognizant of the fact that a behavioral evaluation can be a poor measure of work performance unless the behaviors chosen are directly applicable to being successful in the job. So as with traits, the Blanchard test asks whether employees understand why they are assessed at a specific level (evaluation) and what it takes to get a higher rating (development).39
  • 41.
    Results Appraisals Our finaloption is to evaluate the results, or outcomes, of the work process. Resultsare simply a measure of the goals achieved through a work process. Using results as an evaluation measure provides management with an assessment of the goals that were achieved in a particular job over time. Can We Accurately Measure Results That Affect Job Performance? Is measuring the outcomes of a particular individual’s job a valid and reliable measure of that person’s performance? Well, results are certainly concrete measures of performance. However, could results of a job have been skewed based on factors that were outside the control of the individual who is performing that job? The answer is obviously that the results could be affected by many other factors besides the individual’s performance. For example, standards could be set too low or high, and equipment and machines don’t always work correctly. As a result, employees can’t do as much, or any, work. Even though this is true, the measurement of results is the final organizational measure of success. The results produced through organizational processes provide the company with its return on investment—in this case, its investment in the people in the organization. So, organizations really like to measure results. Give Results the OUCH Test Let’s take a look at the OUCH test concerning results-based evaluations. Is a result achieved in a particular job a concrete, factual measure that can easily be quantified? Obviously, results are a very objective measure of what has happened in that particular job. If we apply the same results-based measure to each similar job, then our measure is uniform in application. The measure of results would almost certainly be consistent across different groups of employees, so we would also meet the consistency in effect requirement of the OUCH test. And of course, if we are measuring the results of what happens in a job, we are certainly providing a measure that has job relatedness.
  • 42.
    So with aquick scan, we can see that a results- based performanceappraisal meets the requirements of the OUCH test better than do either of the other two options. FOLLOW INSTRUCTIONS TO THE MAX IF THERE ARE ANY QUESTIONS PLEASE DO ASK!! I DO NOT WISH TO ARGUE IN THE END!!!! PAPER INSTRUCTIONS Assignment 2: Employee Development and Performance Continuing from Assignment 1, you were selected as the new HR director for the retail company and now have been in the position for approximately 6 months. Your approach to strategy, planning, and selection have been quite successful thus far, and now it is time to address the organization’s expectation for performance and development of employees since these components of HR strategy are critical in achieving business outcomes and success. (UTILIZE IN INTRODUCTION!!) Write a five to six (5-6) page paper in which you: 1. Critically analyze and discuss any researched (web or textbook) training process model you may consider for use in developing employees (here’s an idea: https://educationaltechnology.net/the-addie-model- instructional-design/ or exhibit 7-1, page 230 in the text book). Then, identify and discuss some possible challenges that might be faced in implementing a new training process in the company. 2. List and briefly discuss at least three (3) types or methods of training that can be used for employee training. Of the 3, which would you select to train the retail employees, and why? Be specific. ( Use OJT!!) 3. Differentiate the concept of performance management and performance appraisal with three (3) to four (4) key points. Then, make your case to leadership for using annual
  • 43.
    performance appraisals inthe organization. Be specific with your perspective. · Format your assignment according to these formatting requirements: a. Be typed, double spaced, using Times New Roman font (size 12), with one-inch margins on all sides; references must follow APA format. b. PAPER MUST HAVE AN INTRODUCTION, BODY, CONCLUSION!!!! c. Include a cover page containing the title of the assignment (with running head), the student’s name, the professor’s name, the course title, and the date. The cover page is not included in the required page length. d. Include a reference page. MUST USE AT MINIMUM 4 REFERENCES!! Citations and references must follow APA format. The reference page is not included in the required page length. NO WIKI REFS!!! THE TEXTBOOK MUST BE USED AS A REFERENCE!!!!!! Lussier, R. N., & Hendon, J. R. (2019). Human resource management functions, applications, and skill development. Los Angeles: SAGE. e. FOR EACH SECTION LISTED ABOVE 1-3 THE BEGINNING PARAGRAPH SHOULD HAVE A TITLE SIMILAR TO THE INSTRUCTIONS SEE RUBRIC BELOW Unacceptable 0 - 69% F Fair 70 - 79% C Proficient 80 - 89% B Exemplary 90 - 100% A
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    HRM599-A2-1 1. Critically analyzeand research (web or textbook) any training process model you may consider for use in developing employees, then identify and discuss some possible challenges that might be faced in implementing a new training process in the company. Points Range:0 (0%) - 29.32 (17.25%) Did not submit or incompletely critically analyzed and researched (web or textbook) any training process model you may consider for use in developing employees, then did not identify and discuss some possible challenges that might be faced in implementing a new training process in the company. Points Range:29.75 (17.5%) - 33.58 (19.75%) Partially critically analyzed and researched (web or textbook) any training process model you may consider for use in developing employees, then partially identified and discussed some possible challenges that might be faced in implementing a new training process in the company. Points Range:34 (20%) - 37.82 (22.25%) Satisfactorily critically analyzed and researched (web or textbook) any training process model you may consider for use in developing employees, then satisfactorily identified and discussed some possible challenges that might be faced in implementing a new training process in the company. Points Range:38.25 (22.5%) - 42.5 (25%) Thoroughly critically analyzed and researched (web or textbook) any training process model you may consider for use in developing employees, then thoroughly identified and discussed some possible challenges that might be faced in implementing a new training process in the company. HRM599-A2-2 2. List and briefly discuss at least three (3) types or methods of training that can be used for employee training. Of the 3, which would you select to train the retail employees, and why? Be specific. Points Range:0 (0%) - 29.32 (17.25%)
  • 45.
    Did not submitor incompletely listed and briefly discussed at least three (3) types or methods of training that can be used for employee training, and of the 3, did not select one to be used to train the retail employees, and specifically stated why. Points Range:29.75 (17.5%) - 33.58 (19.75%) Partially listed and briefly discussed at least three (3) types or methods of training that can be used for employee training, and of the 3, partially selected one to be used to train the retail employees, and specifically stated why. Points Range:34 (20%) - 37.82 (22.25%) Satisfactorily listed and briefly discussed at least three (3) types or methods of training that can be used for employee training, and of the 3, satisfactorily selected one to be used to train the retail employees, and specifically stated why. Points Range:38.25 (22.5%) - 42.5 (25%) Thoroughly listed and briefly discussed at least three (3) types or methods of training that can be used for employee training, and of the 3, thoroughly selected one to be used to train the retail employees, and specifically stated why. HRM599-A2-3 3. Differentiate the concepts of performance management and performance appraisal with three (3) to four (4) key points. Then, make your case to leadership for or against using annual performance appraisals in the organization. Be specific with your perspective. Points Range:0 (0%) - 29.32 (17.25%) Did not submit or incompletely differentiated the concepts of performance management and performance appraisal with three (3) to four (4) key points and did not make a specific case to leadership for or against using annual performance appraisals in the organization. Points Range:29.75 (17.5%) - 33.58 (19.75%) Partially differentiated the concepts of performance management and performance appraisal with three (3) to four (4) key points and partially made a specific case to leadership for or against using annual performance appraisals in the
  • 46.
    organization. Points Range:34 (20%)- 37.82 (22.25%) Satisfactorily differentiated the concepts of performance management and performance appraisal with three (3) to four (4) key points and satisfactorily made a specific case to leadership for or against using annual performance appraisals in the organization. Points Range:38.25 (22.5%) - 42.5 (25%) Thoroughly used the Diversity or SexuaThoroughly differentiated the concepts of performance management and performance appraisal with three (3) to four (4) key points and thoroughly made a specific case to leadership for or against using annual performance appraisals in the organization. l Harassment Training Plan template located in Week 5 of your Blackboard course shell to develop a training plan to communicate one (1) of the policies you created (the diversity policy or the sexual harassment policy) to the company’s managers, staff, and employees. HRM599-A2-4 4. 4 references Points Range:0 (0%) - 5.86 (3.45%) No references provided. Points Range:5.95 (3.5%) - 6.72 (3.95%) Does not meet the required number of references; some or all references poor quality choices. Points Range:6.8 (4%) - 7.56 (4.45%) Meets number of required references; all references high quality choices. Points Range:7.65 (4.5%) - 8.5 (5%) Exceeds number of required references; all references high quality choices. HRM599-A2-5 5. Writing Mechanics, Grammar, and Formatting Points Range:0 (0%) - 5.86 (3.45%) Serious and persistent errors in grammar, spelling, punctuation, or formatting.
  • 47.
    Points Range:5.95 (3.5%)- 6.72 (3.95%) Partially free of errors in grammar, spelling, punctuation, or formatting. Points Range:6.8 (4%) - 7.56 (4.45%) Mostly free of errors in grammar, spelling, punctuation, or formatting. Points Range:7.65 (4.5%) - 8.5 (5%) Error free or almost error free grammar, spelling, punctuation, or formatting. HRM599-A2-6 6. Appropriate Use of APA In-Text Citations and Reference Points Range:0 (0%) - 5.86 (3.45%) Lack of in-text citations and / or lack of reference section. Points Range:5.95 (3.5%) - 6.72 (3.95%) In-text citations and references are provided, but they are only partially formatted correctly in APA style. Points Range:6.8 (4%) - 7.56 (4.45%) Most in-text citations and references are provided, and they are generally formatted correctly in APA style. Points Range:7.65 (4.5%) - 8.5 (5%) In-text citations and references are error free or almost error free and consistently formatted correctly in APA style. HRM599-A2-7 7. Information Literacy/Integration of Sources Points Range:0 (0%) - 5.86 (3.45%) Serious errors in the integration of sources, such as intentional or accidental plagiarism, or failure to use in-text citations. Points Range:5.95 (3.5%) - 6.72 (3.95%) Sources are partially integrated using effective techniques of quoting, paraphrasing, and summarizing. Points Range:6.8 (4%) - 7.56 (4.45%) Sources are mostly integrated using effective techniques of quoting, paraphrasing, and summarizing. Points Range:7.65 (4.5%) - 8.5 (5%) Sources are consistently integrated using effective techniques of quoting, paraphrasing, and summarizing.
  • 48.
    HRM599-A2-8 8. Clarity andCoherence of Writing Points Range:0 (0%) - 5.86 (3.45%) Information is confusing to the reader and fails to include reasons and evidence that logically support ideas. Points Range:5.95 (3.5%) - 6.72 (3.95%) Information is partially clear with minimal reasons and evidence that logically support ideas. Points Range:6.8 (4%) - 7.56 (4.45%) Information is mostly clear and generally supported with reasons and evidence that logically support ideas. Points Range:7.65 (4.5%) - 8.5 (5%) Information is provided in a clear, coherent, and consistent manner with reasons and evidence that logically support ideas.