APTE

JOB PERFORMANCE

.. Leaming Objectives
By the end of the lesson, the students should have learned to:

• Explain non task behaviors and their r-0le in performance

measurement.

• Describe performance domains and performance dimensions.

• Explain why performance measurement is key to the success-

ful implementation of selection system.

• Describe a multidimensional model of job performance.

• Outline and describe the challenges involved in developi ng a

sound criterion measurement.

• List and describe the various ways job performance criteria

can be conceptualized, such as ultimate, global, etc.

• List and describe the various methods for job performance

measurem ent available, including the various strengths and
weaknesses of each approach.

• Describe the legal implications in performance appraisal.

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Job Performance has been define d as the ov~ra ll expec ted :'"alue fro1n_
emplo yees' behav iors carrie d out over the c?urs e _0 ~ ~ set peno d of tiin.e
(Moto widlo , Borm an, & Schm idt, 1997)~ This de.fu::ri~on, alili~ ugh fairly
techni cal, includ es specif ic ideas that are worth break ing down .
. .
• Perfor mance is a prope rty of behav ior, or, plainl y stated, what people
do at work
• An ·empl oyee's behav ior adds expec ted v~u_e to. the org~ za~o n ....
that. is, an emplo yee's behav iors may be d1stm gu1sh ed as helpin g or
hinde ring an organ izatio n, but the outco mes of emplo yee behav iors
are rarely measu red so their value is merel y expec ted
Perfo mtanc e can furUter be broke n down into two distin ct types:
,, • Task Performance - These are the action s that contri bute to transf ormin g
r.t
rl raw mater ials to goods and servic es,. the things that are typica lly
$,}
,,. includ ed in job descri ptions . Exam ples includ e sellin g clothe s, drillin g
,.,.
•' h?les, or teachi ng a class.
• Conte xtual Performance ~ These are the · behav iors that contri bute- to
overa ll effect ivenes s throu gh suppo rting the social and psych ologic al
clima te of the workp lace. Exam ples includ e .coope rating with
teamm ates, diffus ing confli cts, and cleani ng up the confe rence room.

Meas uring Job Perfo rman ce

1"
Decis ions to retain , promo te, or fire peopl e have to be made in every
·,
organ izatio n. What is the most accur ate way to make these decisi ons?
Classi cally, these decisi ons were made throu gh patro nage and nepot ism,
where perso nal relati onshi ps withi n the organ izatio n had a large impac t
on prom otion and firing decisi ons. While perso nal relati onshi ps are still
impor tant today , many indus tries try to system atical ly assess worke r
perfor mance , in order to increa se produ ctivit y (and ultim ately, profits)..

Three Major Class es of Work er Produ ctivit y Meas ures:

1. Production Counts - involv es attem pting to measu re what a worke r
produ ces on the job. The worke r with the highe r produ ction count is
assum ed to be the better worke r. · ·

e t:tc:
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Various p9s~ible production counts:

Lawyers: The nup1ber of billable hours in a month

I

Factory Worker: Number of parts assembled in a day.

Clerical Worker: Th~ number of key strokes made in a day.
However, for many job titles, it is not clear how productivity .should
be measured in terms of production counts. This is particularly true for
management positions of other professional jobs.
2. Personnel Data

· Another way of attempting to objectively measure job performance

is to use informati~n from the employees personnel file. Training Session
attendance and performance, outside education soµght, suggestions
to improve productivity made, number of complaints made against,
number of work related accidents, are all possible pieces of information
that might be fourfd within a personnel file.
3. Judgmental Methods

. A manager or performance appraiser is asked to· compare an

employee with other employees and rate the person on a number of
traits or behavioral dimensions. These appraisal systems are based on
the exercise of judgmen t by the superior. Four widely used judgmen tal
approaches are graphic rating scales, ranking, paired comparison, and
forced distribution.

A MULTIDIMENSIONAL MODEL OF JOB PERFORMANCE

Despite the emphasis on defining and predicting job performance, it is
not a single unified construct. There are vastly many jobs each with different
performance standard s. Therefore, job performance is conceptualized as a
multidimensional construct consisting of more than one kind of behavior.
Campbell (1990} proposed an eight factor model of performance based
on factor analytic research that attempts to capture dimensions ot .job
performance existent (to a greater or lesser extent) across all jobs.

1. Task Specific Behaviors

Include those behaviors that an individua l undertak es as part of
a job. They are .the core substantive tasks that delineate one job from
another.
 2. Non-Task Specific Behaviors
Are those behaviors which an individual is required to undertak
which do not pertaih only to a particular job. Returning to the sale:
person, an example of a task specific behavior -~ould b~ showing a
product to a potential customer. A non-task specrfic behavior of a Sales
person might be training new staff members.
3. Written and Oral Communicat ion Tasks
Refer to activities where the incumbent is evaluated, ~ot on the
content of a message necessarily, but on the adeptness with w~ch
they deliver the communicati on. Employees need to make formal anct
informal oral and written presentations to various audiences in many
different jobs in the work force.
4. Demonstrat ing Effort
An individual's performance can also be asse~sed in terms of effort,
either day to day, or when there are extraordinary circumstance s. This
factor reflects the degree to which people commit themselves to job
tasks.
5. Personal Discipline

Individuals would be expected to be in good standing with the law.

6. Helps out the groups and his or her colleagues
In jobs where people work closely or are highly interdepende nt,
.
!.I, performance may include the degree to which a person helps out the
groups and his or her colleagues. This might include acting as a good
role model, coaching, giving advice or helping maintain group goals.
7. Supervisory or Leadership Component
The individual wtll be relied upon to undertake many of the things
delineated under the previous factor and in addition will be responsible
for meting out rewards and punishments . These aspects of performance
happen in a face to face manner.
8. Managerial Task
A managerial task would be setting an organization al goal or
responding to external stimuli to assist a gr;oup in achieving its goals.
 rn½C ::,-41 IA'

In a~di~~n, a manager might be responsible for monitorin_g g~oup

and md1v1dual progress towards goals and monitoring orgam zationa l
resources.

CRITERIA FOR AN EMPLOYEE EVALUATION

Employee evaluations represent a fundamental tool used by businesses
to conduct perio~ic appraisals of employee _performance. An _effective
employee evaluation forms the supporting evidence for promo tions and
pay increases. The~e. assessments also alert managers when an emplo ree
needs further trairung or suppor t in his position. Those evalua ting
employees must ensure ¢at all the necessary criteria were includ ed in the
appraisals? they can accurately guide the employee toward fu~re success.

The. following are the evaluation criteria/factors:

1. Quality of Work: This is the measu;ement of the degree of excellence of

the work perfor ~ed over the entire rating period. In rating this factor,
attention should be given to the consequence of poor quality of work.

2. Quantity of Work: Refers to -the quantity of satisfactory work turned

out during a given.period of time. Does the employee consistently
accomplish a full· day's work? Does the employee produc e enoug h
work so that he/she is clearly an asset t? the department?

3. Job Knowledge: This factor should not be restricted to the technical

knowledge an employee is required to bring a specialized job. It is
much broader and ,includes particularly the range of pertine nt policies,
regulations and procedures relating to his/her assignment. It does
relate to the mental and/or physical skills required in a given position.
A craftsman's basic skills are readily identified, while many office
occupations include job skills which are relatively obscure.

4. Supervision: The degree of supervision an employee requires in

accomplishing assigned duties and how successful his/her planni ng
and organizing are in achieving desired results.

5. Attitude: Refers to the degree of willingness an employee exhibits

when given responsibility and the manner in which he/she relates to
other personnel in carrying out that responsibility.
 ~~
i . Attendance, appearance and Plltt
6. Attendance and Pudnc~al. ci~ant in t---

may be cons~~ere s1gru fulfilling the requirell)_en.~~qlik

particular position. s tlf 'Y
. ii
.. ch as integrity, patience, and coura
Intangible qualities su . al' traits ge
not to employee•s perfo llsll~l\
refer to character and person itytion
and should be avoided as eva1ua f~ctors unless a direct rela~ll'\Ql\~Y
between such traits and job perform~c be demonstrated 0t1.s~~,
e can . p

MANAGING EMPLOYEE PERFORMA

NCE ·
Managing employee· · the small business is comp
performance m
'easy as you have fewer employees to ove , Ak t 1f . arati.ve1
effectiveness of employee performance
rsee. ey : or m~rutoring
is thr~ugh e appra l pr e
t;
.. Performance appraisal is important as thi6 rov1des you cnhcali~ainf 012
P . · . ?r.ll\ati_ess() ·
,j

•I for a variety of purposes including pro

I
motion and salar.y dec1s1ons, ¾~
planning for training and developing
employees. d.
Performance appraisal involves the fol
lowing steps:
1st Set performance standards. Pri
' or to the appraisal, you n
. to ensure that you communicate ~
t~ your empl~yees the performance
expected of them and the correspond
mg rewards or consequences of such
performance
· 2nd, Measure employee performa
nce and to compare them With
standards. Yo u use such tools as the graphic rating
scale, ranking method
forced dis~ibutio~ method, behaviora
lly an_~ore_q ~ating scale (BARS),
Management by Objectives (MBO) and
the cntical mc1dent method.
3rd, Prqvide feedback of their per
formance to your employees.
When performance is unsatisfactory
but may be corrected or remedied,
you should come up with a joint pla
n for correcting the deviation. For
employees whose performance is satisfa
ctory, your objective is to maintain
satisfactory performance. Finally if the
performance is both satisfactory and
· becomes the basis for promotion, yo
u need to discuss with your employee
an action plan to enable him to effective
ly perform his new job.
Performance appraisals should be ma
naged to bring about meaningful
change in your employees performance
. You must engage your employees
during the appraisal process. This will
enable you both to clarify job-related
probl~ms, set imprnvement goals and
a timetable for achieving them.