Student1-I believe the two most important characteristics of objectives is choice 1 specific and clear and choice 5 prioritized. Having specific and clear objectives is extremely important because if the objectives are too vague, they will not be executed properly and will not be achieved. The objectives must be clear and concise for an employee to truly understand them and map out a process on how to achieve them. An employee will have multiple objectives and it is crucial for them to prioritize their objectives. Not all objectives are made equal; therefore objectives should be prioritized and tackled one by one (Aguinis, 2019, p. 126). If employees do not prioritize their objectives, they may lose sight of what is most important, and may not meet their short term and long term goals. Although the other characteristics are important, without these two, objectives will not be met.
Aguinis, H. (2019). Performance management. Chicago: Chicago Business Press.
Student 2-The question that stood out to me the most was “Did I do my best to set clear goals? ” this is part of self evaluation which is important in a company. An employee cant rely on only the company for motivation and meeting their goals. They need to put in the effort too. Having goals for yourself gives you the motivation to wok had for something. The company should be able to provide the resources needed in order for you to meet your goals. I think this also goes and in hand with”did i do my best?” The company cant push you to do your best. Having goals set for ourself will motivate you to do your best. If you’re not doing your best and giving your all, you’re not pushing to your goals.
Student3-The article Performance Management at the Wheel: Driving Employee Engagement in Organizations relates to the textbook written by Aguinis. The article discusses how effective use of feedback is an important aspect of the performance management system (Mone, Eisinger, Guggenheim, Price & Stine, 2011). . . . providing ongoing feedback to employees that helps improve performance is a key driver of employee engagement (Mone, Eisinger, Guggenheim, Price & Stine, 2011). Performance assessments can be an effective way to deliver performance information from manager to employee. On page 56 in the textbook, the performance assessment phase is described. This period is used to evaluate the extent the employee has performed desired behaviors, and if the results desired were achieved (Aguinis, 2019).
Another key point discussed in the article is how building a climate of trust and empowerment within an organization is important. Employees that have the resources to perform their job correctly are usually rated higher in productivity and motivation. . . . employees having the resources to perform their job effectively and being encouraged to be innovative and creative to improve their work processes and productivity are bother primary drivers of employee engagement (Mone, Eisinger, Guggenheim, Price & Stine, 2011). Making sure employees are provided with efficient resources to perform their job correctly is important from when the employee is hired. Having job descriptions that provide what the employee is expected to do is setting the company up for picking the right individual. On page 48 in the textbook, Aguinis discusses job descriptions. Job descriptions should be clear, specific and correct. Picking employees that uphold your companys success is important because an interested employee is going to have higher ratings in areas such as job satisfaction, productivity, and motivation.
Student4- If I were to speak out to all managers about the dangersof rating errors, and would have to focus on two specific areas, I would choose to address contrast error and recency error. The reason I would choose to discuss those two errors is because from personal experience, they are the most endured. Contrast error occurs when managers review/rate employees against other employees rather than by the standards set in place by company guidelines. It is easy for managers to say one employee is better than another in a certain field, but it is important that the employees are being evaluated based on standard guidelines. It is not fair to compare ones performance against another, it should be assed in a way that ensures they are upholding their end of their job for the company based on what the company needs. Recent error is when managers focus on the employee’s last portion of the review period. This is a common mistake as it is the most recent information collected. It is easy for managers to forget the initial efforts of their employees and only focus on their most recent performance. This is an issue because managers should be evaluating employees on their overall performance progression and how they have grown from the beginning to now, not just the recent results. If you only review/rate the recent performance of an employee, you do not take into account how far they have come to get to that point.
