This chapter discusses performance management and employee development. It covers personal developmental plans, the direct supervisor's role in developing plans, and implementing 360-degree feedback systems. Personal developmental plans specify actions to improve performance and highlight strengths and areas for development. The supervisor's role includes explaining performance expectations, referring employees to development activities, and reviewing objectives. 360-degree feedback involves gathering performance information from superiors, peers, customers, subordinates and the employee themselves to provide anonymous feedback to help employees improve. Risks include unconstructive feedback and lack of user acceptance if not implemented properly.

1. Chapter 8
Chapter 8 - Performance Management and Employee Development
Learning Objectives
8.1 Describe the importance and benefits of including a developmental plan as part of the
performance management system.
8.2 Describe the various short-term and long-term objectives of a developmental plan.
8.3 Design a high quality developmental plan.
8.4 Learn about the key activities that will help the successful implementation of a
developmental plan.
8.5 Understand the role that the direct supervisor plays in the design and implementation
of a developmental plan.
8.6 Implement a 360-degree feedback system with the goal of providing feedback on and
improving performance.
8.7 Implement an on-line 360-degree feedback system.
8.8 Understand the advantages, as well as risks, of implementing a 360-degree feedback
system.
8.9 Evaluate the quality of a 360-degree feedback system.
Chapter Outline
Performance Management and Employee Development
Overview
1. Personal Developmental Plans
2. Direct Supervisor’s Role
3. 360-Degree Feedback Systems
1. Personal Developmental Plans
Stakeholders in the Development Process
o Employees
 Help plan their own development
 Improve their own performance
o Managers
 Help guide the process of development
 Support success of process
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2. Part III: Employee Development___________________________________________________________________
Personal Developmental Plans
o Specify actions necessary to improve performance
o Highlight employee’s
 Strengths
 Areas in need of development
Personal Developmental Plans Answer:
o How can I continuously learn and grow in the next year?
o How can I do better in the future?
o How can I avoid performance problems of the past?
Overview of Personal Developmental Plans Section
o Developmental Plan Objectives
o Content of Developmental Plan
o Developmental Activities
 How does General Mills use developmental plans?
• Developmental Plan Objectives
o Overall Developmental Plan Objectives
 Encourage:
– Continuous learning
– Performance improvement
– Personal growth
o Specific Developmental Plan Objectives
 Improve performance in current job
 Sustain performance in current job
 Prepare employees for advancement
 Enrich employee’s work experience
 How does the Texas A&M University in the U.S. use its developmental plan?
• Content of Developmental Plan
o Development objectives
 New skills or knowledge
 Timeline
o How the new skills or knowledge will be acquired
 Resources
 Strategies
o Based on needs of organization and employee
o Chosen by employee and direct supervisor
o Taking into account:
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3. Chapter 8
 Employee’s learning preferences
 Development objective in question
 Organization’s available resources
 Does Texas A&M University include all of the content described on these two slides in their
Professional Developmental Plan? How could it be improved?
• Developmental Activities “On-the-Job”
o On-the-job training
o Mentoring
o Job rotation
o Temporary assignments
• Developmental Activities in Addition to “On-the-Job”
o Courses
o Self-guided reading
o Getting a degree
o Attending a conference
o Membership or leadership role in professional or trade organization
 Have you worked for an employer who provided any of these developmental activities?
 Which of these “on-the-job” and other developmental activities have you participated in?
 Which would you like to participate in?
 Which, if any, of these developmental activities are you willing to pay for yourself?
2. Direct Supervisor’s Role
In Developmental Plan Meeting
o Explain what is necessary for desired performance
 Steps to take
 Probability of success
o Refer employee to appropriate developmental activities
 Mentors
 Reading materials
 Courses, etc.
o Review and make suggestions re: development objectives
 Assure that goals are:
• achievable
• specific
• doable
Ongoing
o Check on employee’s progress
o Provide motivational reinforcement
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4. Part III: Employee Development___________________________________________________________________
 Is it a good idea for supervisors to have their own developmental plans? Why?
 How are supervisors motivated to perform this role at KLA-Tencor Corporation?
 What else is done at this company to encourage success of the employee development
program?
 What do supervisors do to help employees develop at Diageo?
3. 360-Degree Feedback Systems
Definition:
o Tools to help employees improve performance by using:
• Performance information
• Gathered from many sources
- Superiors
- Peers
- Customers
- Subordinates
- The employee
o Anonymous feedback
o Most useful when used
 For development
 NOT for administrative purposes
o Internet used for collecting data
 Let’s consider the system examples offered by CheckPoint in the next few slides. How is
such information useful to the organization, the supervisor, the employee?
Necessary organizational norms include:
o Cooperation
o Openness and trust
o Input and participation valued
o Fairness
Overview of Discussion re: 360-Degree Feedback Systems
o Advantages of 360-Degree Feedback Systems
o Risks of 360-Degree Feedback Systems
o Characteristics of a Good 360-Degree Feedback System
• Advantages of 360-Degree Feedback Systems
 Decreased possibility of biases
 Increased awareness of expectations
 Increased commitment to improve
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5. Chapter 8
 Improved self-perception of performance
 Improved performance
 Reduction of “undiscussables”
 Increased employee control of their own careers
 What benefits were realized at Sonoco Products when a 360-degree feedback system was
implemented?
• Risks of 360-Degree Feedback Systems
o Unconstructive negative feedback hurts.
o Are individuals comfortable with the system?
 User acceptance is crucial.
o If few raters, anonymity is compromised
o Raters may become overloaded
o Stock values may drop
 How is this finding a reminder to use “best practices” in implementing such a system?
• Characteristics of a Good 360-Degree Feedback System
o Anonymity
o Observation of employee performance
o Avoidance of survey fatigue
o Raters are trained
o Used for developmental purposes only
o Emphasis on behaviors
o Raters go beyond ratings
o Feedback interpretation
o Follow-up
 How difficult is it to develop a good 360-degree feedback system?
 Where could you go for help? (e.g., Internet vendors often provide samples, examples, etc.)
 How could you improve the program at AAH Pharmaceuticals, knowing what you know
now?
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6. Part III: Employee Development___________________________________________________________________
Performance Management and Employee Development: Summary
1. Personal Developmental Plans
2. Direct Supervisor’s Role
3. 360-Degree Feedback Systems
Review Learning Objectives
Worked Solutions for End-of-Chapter Cases
Case Study 8.1: Development Plan Form at Old Dominion University
There are several positive features of the Old Dominion University employee development form.
The form requests not only the goals that the employee will work toward, but also what the
supervisor and also the employee himself/herself must do to reach the goals. This is positive in
that it emphasizes that development is a joint effort between the employee and the supervisor.
However, the form could be improved if it asked for target dates for the goal to be reached, as
well as a description of how to assess whether or not the goal has been completed. The quality
of this form also hinges on how well managers are trained at setting goals, because it does not
offer guidance on how to set goals that are practical, specific, time-oriented, linked to a standard,
and developed jointly between the supervisor and the employee.
(Suggested points: 10, [8.3])
Case Study 8.2: Evaluation of a 360-Degree Feedback System Demo
The survey has several positive features. This assessment focuses on observation of employee
performance and behaviors, and it is a short survey to minimize survey fatigue. However, rater
training should accompany this tool to ensure that raters are objective in their ratings and that
they provide useful, constructive comments to the ratees. It will be up to the company who uses
this feedback whether or not to use it strictly for developmental purposes and to keep the raters’
identities anonymous, although raters will need to be trained on how to provide comments so that
their identities will remain confidential. The results offered by this site are positive. They help
explain the goals of 360-feedback, divert negative reactions to feedback, and provide next steps
that the participant should take, including constructing a developmental plan.
The negatives of this survey are that more follow up is needed for individuals to put this
feedback into use. The site should suggest follow-up coaching sessions. Furthermore, the need
for rater training with this tool is not mentioned. The rating scale is 9 points and most raters may
have a hard time distinguishing between all levels of performance. Overall, this is a good tool
and could be useful to organizations.
(Suggested points: 10, [8.9])
Case Study 8.3: Implementation of 360-Degree Feedback System at Ridge Intellectual
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7. Chapter 8
There are several steps that Ridge could have taken to successfully implement the 360-degree
feedback system. Initially, the president of the company should have made sure that multirater
feedback was needed in the company. If it was needed, she should have held meetings with the
employees in her company to describe the benefits of 360-degree feedback and gain employee
buy-in of the system. Furthermore, formal rater training should have been mandatory for all
managers, to ensure that performance was being assessed accurately and that the 360-degree
feedback form was being used correctly. The survey should have also only been used for
developmental purposes, and not be linked to employee bonuses. Finally, after the surveys were
taken, the participants should have had a coach or HR representative explain their feedback to
them and help them design an employee developmental plan. Including these benefits of a good
system would have ensured successful implementation of the 360-degree feedback system.
(Suggested points: 10, .5[8.8], .5[8.9])
Additional Cases and Worked Solutions
Case Study: CRB, Inc.
Mary Brown, one of the owners of Car Restoration Business, Inc., has been looking into
developmental plans as a possible way of increasing productivity and morale in the shop.
She adapted a form from some she has seen recently and asks you for feedback on what she
and Al have developed as a plan for their mechanic, Clark J. Tyler, based on comments that
Clark has made at various times and their own sense of what he needs. Note: CRB, Inc. may
not be able to finance much in the way of outside learning; however, the company could
provide some paid time off and may be able to help the employee to negotiate a better rate
for attending some classes, based on various industry memberships.
1. How would you improve and/or change the form (which follows) and its contents?
(Suggested points: 10, .3[8.3], .3[8.4], .4[8.5])
2. Since there are only six employees in the shop, how would you adapt the form to meet the
needs of this small business? Provide an example.
(Suggested points: 10, [8.5])
CRB, Inc. Developmental Plan 1
Updated: June 28, 2005
Name: Clark J. Tyler
Job Title/Job Code: Mechanic
Department: Engine Shop
1
Adapted from Information Systems and Technology Development Plan. Available on-line at
http://web.mit.edu/is/competency/devplan.html.
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8. Part III: Employee Development___________________________________________________________________
Dev. Options
OJT (On-the-job)
Classes
Conferences
On-line
Self-Study
Job Rotation
Videos
Books
Temp. Assignment
Mentorship
Other (specify)
Description
Type of Development
When
How long
Completed hours (this Qtr.)
Comments - Approx. Cost - Other
Objectives/
Evaluation
Current Qtr.
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9. Chapter 8
Next. Qtr.
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10. Part III: Employee Development___________________________________________________________________
Current +2
Current +3
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11. Chapter 8
Primary Reviewer: Bob Jared
Education: High school graduate
Prior Training: Certifications in auto mechanics, body work, engine rebuilding
Job History: 10 years experience in various mechanical and auto body jobs
Career Goals:
Next 1 year
Next 2 years
Next 3 years
Next 5 years--Foreman or own my own shop where I still do some of the more complex work for
myself.
Answers:
1. List only the available or possible development options. Adapt the options to those that fit
the interest and educational levels of the employees. For example, if the shop has a library
and videos available for employees to use, these should be listed. It is unlikely that
employees in an auto restoration shop will be going to many conferences; however, one who
wants to own his own shop may find a small business conference that would meet his needs.
Provide room for the employee to participate in his own developmental plan, since it needs to
be developed by both the employee and the supervisor, taking into account the employee’s
learning preferences, the development objective, and the available resources.
Revise the form to assist the supervisor in helping the employee to develop the plan and to
monitor both implementation and effectiveness of the plan.
2. I would make the form more general and eliminate some of the details, such as career goals
each year and an expectation of completed hours. Since the direct supervisor is primarily
responsible for helping the employee to implement the developmental plan, the form should
help the supervisor do the following:
a. Describe the steps that would be required for an employee to achieve the desired
performance level.
b. Refer employees to appropriate development activities that will help to achieve the specific
goals.
c. Review and make suggestions about the specific development objectives.
d. Check on progress of achieving goals.
e. Provide reinforcement for goals achieved.
In addition, as mentioned previously, it is necessary for the form to allow input from the
employee.
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12. Part III: Employee Development___________________________________________________________________
The following form is one example of how the form could be adapted to allow the supervisors to
create a realistic developmental plan.
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13. Chapter 8
CRB, Inc. Developmental Plan 2
(sample revised)
Date:
Name:
Job Title/Job Code:
Department:
Primary Reviewer:
Education:
Prior Training:
Job History:
Career Goals:
What employee will
do to improve
performance and work
toward career goals
When For how
long
Approx. cost &
who will provide
Comments How will we know
if this has been
done? And how
effective is it?
Possible options could include: OJT (on-the-job training); classes; on-line and other types of self-study;
job rotation; videos; books; a temporary assignment in another part of the shop; mentorship by one of the other employees;
other (specify).
6-month review due on:
Supervisor comments:
Employee comments:
Annual review due on:
Supervisor comments:
Employee comments:
2
Adapted from Information Systems and Technology Development Plan. Available on-line at
http://web.mit.edu/is/competency/devplan.html.
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14. Part III: Employee Development___________________________________________________________________
Case Study: Customer Service Supervisor for Hoffman Airlines
Harry Patterson is the customer service supervisor for Hoffman Airlines at the Kiowa Airport in
Colorado. He supervises ten employees who are responsible for helping customers with lost
baggage, dealing with delayed or missed flights, finding hotel rooms for stranded passengers,
etc. Hoffman Airlines has been considering implementing a 360-degree feedback program for
the employees and has hired you to help them develop such a program. Management has
decided to test the concept by using it as a developmental tool for Harry Patterson.
1. What might be the benefits of implementing 360-degree feedback as a developmental tool for
this supervisor?
(Suggested points: 5, [8.8])
2. What might be the dangers of implementing 360-degree feedback as a developmental tool for
this supervisor?
(Suggested points: 5, [8.8])
3. Using the information at http://online.onetcenter.org/link/summary/43-1011.01, complete the
following grid (note: table is designed to expand to fit contents):
a. What performance dimensions would you define?
b. Who should be the sources for the feedback?
c. What dimensions would be measured by each source?
a. Performance
Dimensions
b.
Source :
b.
Source :
b. Source : b.
Source :
b. Source:
(Suggested points: 10, [8.6])
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15. Chapter 8
Answers:
1. Harry might have a better understanding of what others expect of his performance. If he
gets feedback from a variety of sources, he may be more likely to trust its accuracy
(rather than assuming some kind of bias on the part of a supervisor, for example) and he
might make more of a commitment to improve his performance. In addition, when Harry
understands how his performance affects others (for example, causing someone else more
work), he will be more likely to change it for the better. When he understands how his
own perception of his performance relates to others’ perceptions, he will gradually
improve his understanding of his own performance.
It will be easier for others to give both positive and negative feedback when it is
anonymous and comes from a variety of sources. Given the above information, Harry
will have more information with which to take control of his own career, understanding
both his strengths and weaknesses. His performance should improve.
2. Harry is unlikely to make positive changes unless he believes that he will be rated
honestly and treated fairly.
Depending on the number of raters, Harry may be able to figure out who has provided
what ratings. If the raters are concerned that they may be identified (especially Harry’s
direct subordinates), it is possible that the feedback will be distorted to protect the raters.
On the other hand, if subordinates and others feel comfortable that they won’t be
identified and there is inadequate training in giving constructive feedback--or some sort
of malicious intent--non-constructive and negative feedback can be very hurtful.
Negative feedback can be hurtful, especially if it is not offered in a constructive way.
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3. Using the information at http://online.onetcenter.org/link/summary/43-1011.01, complete
the following grid:
a. What performance dimensions would you define?
b. Who should be the sources for the feedback?
c. What dimensions would be measured by each source? (marked in grid with xxx)
a. Performance
Dimensions (Note: these
dimensions were taken
from the Work Activities
section of the job
description at O*NET;
another acceptable source
for performance
dimensions would be
under Tasks)
b. Source:
Self
b. Source:
Peers
b. Source:
Employees
b. Source:
Customers
b. Source:
Manager
Staffing Organizational
Units — Recruiting,
interviewing, selecting,
hiring, and promoting
employees in an
organization
xxx xxx xxx xxx
Guiding, Directing, and
Motivating
Subordinates —
Providing guidance and
direction to subordinates,
including setting
performance standards
and monitoring
performance
xxx xxx xxx xxx
Communicating with
Supervisors, Peers, or
Subordinates —
Providing information to
supervisors, coworkers,
and subordinates by
telephone, in written
form, e-mail, or in person
xxx xxx xxx xxx
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17. Chapter 8
a. Performance
Dimensions (Note: these
dimensions were taken
from the Work Activities
section of the job
description at O*NET;
another acceptable source
for performance
dimensions would be
under Tasks)
b. Source:
Self
b. Source:
Peers
b. Source:
Employees
b. Source:
Customers
b. Source:
Manager
Establishing and
Maintaining
Interpersonal
Relationships —
Developing constructive
and cooperative working
relationships with others,
and maintaining them
over time
xxx xxx xxx xxx
Scheduling Work and
Activities — Scheduling
events, programs, and
activities, as well as the
work of others
xxx xxx xxx xxx
Documenting/
Recording Information
— Entering, transcribing,
recording, storing, or
maintaining information
in written or
electronic/magnetic form
xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx
Resolving Conflicts and
Negotiating with Others
— Handling complaints,
settling disputes, and
resolving grievances and
conflicts, or otherwise
negotiating with others
xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx
Getting Information —
Observing, receiving, and
otherwise obtaining
information from all
relevant sources
xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx
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18. Part III: Employee Development___________________________________________________________________
a. Performance
Dimensions (Note: these
dimensions were taken
from the Work Activities
section of the job
description at O*NET;
another acceptable source
for performance
dimensions would be
under Tasks)
b. Source:
Self
b. Source:
Peers
b. Source:
Employees
b. Source:
Customers
b. Source:
Manager
Coordinating the Work
and Activities of Others
— Getting members of a
group to work together to
accomplish tasks
xxx xxx xxx xxx
Coaching and
Developing Others —
Identifying the
developmental needs of
others and coaching,
mentoring, or otherwise
helping others to improve
their knowledge or skills
xxx xxx xxx xxx
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