Page 165 - Psychological Management of Individual Performance

148 performance appraisal
Team Working
1 2 3 4 5
Should integrate better Is integrated into the Is important for the team,
and demonstrate more team; accepts the opinion others ask for his/her
cooperation; does not of others, criticizes opinion; is interested in
accept the opinion of constructively, gives other’s point of view and
others, criticises support to colleagues, asks actively for it;
destructively; offers gives information to accepts opinion of others;
support seldomly; does others appropriately critizises constructively;
not always pass offers actively support to
information to others others; supports the
exchange of information
within the teams

There are other appraisal systems, which have no rating scales at all but use open
questions which the superior has to answer in his or her own words; for example:

Which strength does the employee exhibit in fulfilling his present tasks?
Regarding the standardization and comparability aspects, rating scales are preferred.
They are more concrete and well defined than open questions and, if combined with
behavioural examples, they assure that different individuals understand the same terms
in the same way.
In addition, the rating scale is the more comfortable tool. The handling of a rating
scale is more convenient because the superior has no need to write whole sentences.
Especially for less experienced executives, rating scales are easier to manage.
There is, however, one aspect about rating scales that should be taken into account:
rating scales should not be regarded as an instrument for objective measurement. The
rating scale gives an illusion of objectivity that does not exist. In former times, there
was a tendency to sum up the results of the rating scale and use the results for benefit
distribution. Such a procedure assumes a degree of objectivity that cannot normally
be realized between different superiors. If used for salary distribution, a key has to be
defined on how to transfer the evaluation results into benefits.

THE EVALUATION PROCESS

Appraisal systems should have a well-defined evaluation process: this implies that a
specific evaluation period is defined. In the first appraisal dialogue the superiors have the
task of explaining the appraisal system to the employees. The appraisal dimensions are
to be clarified, so that the employee knows—at least from then on—what the superior
expects of the individual and how his or her performance is being measured.
The appraisal dialogue can be more or less structured. If the appraisal system has some
dimensions and rating scales, then the dialogue will probably be guided by this struc-
ture. The superiors give the employee feedback along these dimensions and hopefully
explain their ratings and impressions. The employees have the opportunity to give their
own views on their performance. It is often recommended that the employees make a