Page 172 - Psychological Management of Individual Performance

Chapter 8

Analysis of Performance Potential

Daniela Lohaus
CMG Industrie GmbH, Eschborn, Germany, and
Martin Kleinmann
University of Marburg, Marburg, Germany

INTRODUCTION 156 METHODOLOGICAL ISSUES IN THE MEASUREMENT
DELINEATION OF PERFORMANCE POTENTIAL OF POTENTIAL 166
ANALYSIS 156 NEEDS ANALYSIS 166
DEFINITION OF CONSTITUENTS 156 IDENTIFICATION OF FUTURE JOB FUNCTIONS AND REQUIRED
DEFINITION OF POTENTIAL ANALYSIS 158 QUALIFICATIONS 167
DELIMITATION OF POTENTIAL ANALYSIS AGAINST STABILITY OF PERSONAL CHARACTERISTICS 168
PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL 160 UNCERTAINTY OF PREDICTIONS 168
POTENTIAL ANALYSIS IN THE CONTEXT OF HRM RELIABILITY AND VALIDITY OF JUDGES’RATINGS 169
FUNCTIONS 162 METHODS OF POTENTIAL ANALYSIS 171
OBJECTIVES OF POTENTIAL ANALYSIS 164 REFERENCES 173

SUMMARY
Performance potential refers to the capability of an individual to perform at a certain
level. The analysis of potential seeks to estimate the degree to which performance-
related skills and abilities that already exist, or do not yet exist, will develop or
could be developed. However, for potential to be actually transferred into performance,
motivation has to supervene. Thus, the estimation of potential should include measures
of motivation. Potential analyses are done for current employees as well as for job
applicants—though, to a lesser extent for the latter. They follow a range of objectives
whose achievement is more likely if procedures are fair and transparent for participants.
Human resources personnel who develop a potential analysis system in order to predict
future performance are faced with a number of methodological issues, each of which
is of critical importance for the quality of the potential analysis. Various methods to
analyze potential are used, with assessment centers (ACs; recently dynamic ACs have
gained increasing popularity) probably being the most common. Although ACs suit best
the needs to reconcile placement decisions with the company culture, there is evidence
that general mental ability best predicts future performance.

Psychological Management of Individual Performance. Edited by Sabine Sonnentag.
C 2002 John Wiley& Sons, Ltd. ISBN: 0-471-87726-3