Assignment task:
Appraise the performance of the employee in the case below. Then relate the assessment to the process of evaluating employees as a performance and compensation tool for the organization.
Important to consider the legal, political, and social implications of what it means to be "fair"... When answering the questions, think on: Why should customers and peers have input to someone's evaluation instead of just a person's immediate supervisor? What are the legal implications of assessing an employee unfairly? If one manager appears "arbitrary" or inconsistent how does this affect the whole appraisal system? If the system is tied to pay-for-performance, how might significant differences in assessment impact compensation and management approval?
Case
You work at Sephora. You are the supervisor of a project team of 6 individuals. The team was put together to launch the release of a major perfume product that will be sold in all the company's branches. The team consists of 2 marketing specialists, 2 advertising specialists, a graphic designer, and an events promotional planner. The team is bonded by the common goal of successfully launching this new product.
Your success as a supervisor depends on the cohesion of the team and their ability to integrate all the diverse tasks in order to accomplish their goal. The team's success is measured by their ability to meet and hopefully exceed the projected sales targets set by upper management. Most members of the team work well together, put in a lot of extra time on the project, and are very committed to its success. The team's promotional planner, George, is the weakest link in the team. He is creative and often comes up with unique promotional events. He is outgoing, charming, the life of the party, and great with clients.
The sales team loves his work. However, George is also very weak with organizational details. He plans events without checking with the team, co-ordinating communications, or managing logistical details. He always manages to pull off the event but only because the team usually scrambles at the last-minute to solve his problems. He then buys them a drink and tells them how wonderful they are to smooth over the hard feelings.
When reviewing his performance, George tends to be defensive, minimizes the impact of his errors, and either makes excuses or blames someone else. He does not seem receptive to suggestions and doesn't handle criticism well. When given the chance, George tries to re-define the discussion as a work-load issue.
Instructions: As his manager, appraise George's performance as a promotional planner for project related events. Use the feedback provided from George, his peers, his customers and you as his supervisor. Then come up with a general rating based on the range of categories listed below.
The Rating Scale:
- Always exceeds targets and objectives
- Frequently exceeds objectives and targets
- Meets objectives and targets
- Frequently does not meet objectives and targets
- Unsatisfactory performance (employee will be put on probation)
Questions:
Answer the following questions for George's appraisal:
1. Give George a rating from his peers. Explain why you think his peers would agree with this score.
2. Give George a rating from his customers. Explain why you think his customers would agree with this score.
3. Give George a rating from his manager. Explain why you think his manager would agree with this score.
4. Why you selected the final score.