MGT 520 Module 9: Employee Performance and Rating Distortion Analysis

This case study examines the challenges of employee performance management within Expert Engineering, a firm with a merit-based culture, but facing potential rating distortions due to recent hiring from the same college as a key principal. The analysis delves into factors contributing to intentional rating distortion, such as leniency errors, halo effects, and potential favouritism, impacting fairness and employee motivation. The case study explores interventions to mitigate these biases, including developing transparent performance measurement policies, conducting periodic reviews, implementing 360-degree feedback systems, and fostering a merit-based culture. The study emphasizes the importance of ethical decision-making in performance management to maintain organizational integrity and ensure fair employee evaluations. The assignment aims to provide an in-depth analysis of the case study and provides recommendations to minimize intentional rating distortion.

2020
Employee Performance
Student Details

EMPLOYEE PERRFROMANCE 1
Executive Summary
The employee performance is required to be effectively analysed by the management
so that their contribution towards the organisational performance can be analysed and
accordingly rated within the organisation. The case is focused on the Exact Engineering that
has a merit-based culture and unbiased performance management within the organisation.
The recent hiring at the firm from the same college as that of the principal of the department
results in creating a situation where intentional rating disorder may happen. Therefore, to
eliminate such practices, management is required to focus on developing policies and
strategies to ensure that the activities are being performed as per the organisational goals and
objectives and transparency is maintained in the performance management within the
organisation.

EMPLOYEE PERRFROMANCE 2
Table of Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................3
Intentional Distortion Rating Factors involved..........................................................................3
Interventions to minimize the intentional rating distortion........................................................4
Conclusion..................................................................................................................................5
References..................................................................................................................................7

EMPLOYEE PERRFROMANCE 3
Introduction
The performance management is required to be effective and unbiased so that the
exact and accurate performance of the employees can be identified and accordingly policies
can be developed within the organisation. The case is focused on Expert engineering, the
organisation that has a history of the effective performance evaluation and feedback culture
and avoids the favouritism and the promotion is based on the merit-based culture.
The recent hiring done by the organisation was done from the same college from
where the principal of the engineering firm was graduated; therefore, due to which other
principles are tensed about the intentional rating distortion within the organisation. The report
is based on analysing the factors that may arise within the situation and ways through which
such rating distortion can be minimised.
Intentional Distortion Rating Factors involved
The organisation has hired the engineers from the same college of that of the
principal, due to which he was actively involved within the hiring process and can lead
towards biased ratings and performance management by the management. The organisation
may face leniency error, as the principle may provide some leniency to the engineers from his
colleagues during the time of the evaluation, due to which the management will not be able to
effectively analyse the exact performance while working in the organisation (Lunenburg,
2012).
There can be an impact of Hola effect within the managers, due to which the
ineffectiveness of the hired engineers may be neglected. As the principal is from the same
college, and he has proven his effectiveness within the organisation, therefore the seniors
may predict that the graduates from the same university will provide same results to the
organisation and will contribute towards the performance effectiveness.
Due to leniency by the principal or may be due to the halo effect, the situation of
favouritism may arise, and the deserving and effective employees may not get the chance to
get themselves promoted within the organisation. Also, such promotions will result in a
decline in the performance standards of the organisation and decreased motivation among the
employees. The distortion rating results in central tendency error to avoid the conflicts among
the employees and provides middle or the central ratings to the employees, under such

EMPLOYEE PERRFROMANCE 4
conditions also the performance management becomes a challenge within the organisation
(Javidmehr & Ebrahimpour, 2015).
Expert Engineering has an effective organisational culture and a history of unbiased
performance management. But after the recent hiring, the other principals are worried about
the biases that may occur within the organisation, as a result, their focus towards effective
teamwork or the performance improvement may reduce while working and will result in
creating in negative impact within the industry, as being at the senior position within the
organisation, the decisions taken by them at their level will impact the employee performance
and accordingly will impact the organisational performance within the industry.
Also, if the principals or the managers became biased after the hiring of the engineers
from the college then it may result in developing an unbiased culture within the organisation
and the effort of the top management in retaining the organisation’s image of being unbiased
within the industry may get change and such change will also impact the brand image as well
as the perspective for the organisation within the industry. Therefore, it is required that the
management effectively develops policies and strategies through which any such situation
can be avoided and the effectiveness of the organisation can be ensured and maintained
(Chandrasekar , 2011).
Interventions to minimize the intentional rating distortion
The rating distortion results in negative impact over the organisation as well as its
working, therefore it is required that the management effectively focuses on the development
of policies and strategies through which such practices can be eliminated. The managers
should focus on developing performance measurement policies through which the employees
qualitative as well as qualitative both the aspects within the organisation can be analysed and
accordingly their performance can be evaluated, and such analysis will be free of the personal
or intentional biases (Oakland, 2014).
The management can also focus upon the periodic analysis rather than focusing on the
annual analysis of the employee performance, as the employee performance over the period
can be effectively be analysed and the leaders or the superior’s intentional rating distortion
issue can be identified effectively within the organisation. Also, conducting periodic reviews
will help the managers in effectively analysing the period in which the employees were
actively engaged within the operational activities also the organisation performance within
the industry can be analysed (Marrelli, 2011).

EMPLOYEE PERRFROMANCE 5
Also, the employee review system may include different reviews systems and
formats, for example, the organisation can focus upon 360-degree feedback, which will help
in analysing the employee performance from a different perspective within the industry, as
the employees are not being only analysed by their supervisors but also by their colleagues,
their performance reports and through other multiple sources. Such performance systems will
result in the effective analysis of the employee performance as the intentional rating of the
supervisor will not result in improving the employee report, there are other factors and rating
factors involved that will focus on the analysis of the employee performance (Tee & Ahmed,
2014).
The management can also focus on eliminating the intentional rating disorder by
focusing on developing a transparent system through which the employees performance as
well as their improvement can be effectively viewed and can be justified and the supervisors,
managers, as well as their colleagues, can also view the employee performance, such tactics
also boost the employee motivation to perform better, and resulting in the improvement of the
organisational performance (Fung, 2014).
The senior managers can focus upon developing teams within the organisation
depending upon the factors such as the employee skills and capabilities, and the performance
of the employees, and assign the responsibilities to the leaders within the organisation along
with developing a multi-level leadership approach, such approach will result in managing the
employees in a structured manner, and the issue of the biases can be eliminated. The issue of
the intentional and biased rating within the organisation can be eliminated of the principals or
the employees working focus on the developed strategic goals and objectives, and follow the
merit-based culture within the organisation. Such practices will help in reducing the
discontent among the principals and will promote the ethical business culture within the
organisation (Pulakos, Mueller-Hanson, O’Leary, & Meyrowitz, 2013).
Conclusion
The managements are required to promote the culture of ethical decision-making
during performance management within the organisation, as intention rating disorders impact
the firm’s performance and result in creating a negative impact within the industry. In the
case of Exact Engineering, the issue of unethical rating practices may arise, due to the active
involvement of the principle in the hiring of candidates from his college. The rating disorders

EMPLOYEE PERRFROMANCE 6
within the organisation also results in demotivating the existing employees within the
organisation and impacting the overall performance of the organisation.
Therefore, it is required that the management focuses on developing policies and
strategies through which the work and performance transparency of the employees within the
organisation can be ensured, and such practices can be eliminated. The performance system
at Exact Engineering can be focused upon utilising feedback frameworks such as 360-degree
feedback so that the employee performance can be analysed from different perspectives and
through multiple sources.

EMPLOYEE PERRFROMANCE 7
References
Chandrasekar , K. (2011). Workplace Environment And Its Impact On Organisational
Performance In Public Sector Organisations . International Journal of Enterprise
Computing and Business Systems .
Fung, B. (2014). The Demand and Need for Transparency and Disclosure in Corporate
Governance. Universal Journal of Management, 72-80.
Javidmehr, M., & Ebrahimpour, M. (2015). Performance appraisal bias and errors: The
influences and consequences . International Journal Of Organizational Leadership,
286-302 .
Lunenburg, F. C. (2012). Performance Appraisal: Methods and Rating Errors. International
Journal of Scholarly Academic Intellectual Diversity, 1-9.
Marrelli, A. F. (2011). Employee engagement and performance management in the federal
sector. Performance Improvement, 5-13.
Oakland, J. S. (2014). Total Quality Management and Operational Excellence: Text with
Cases. London: Routledge.
Pulakos, E. D., Mueller-Hanson, R. A., O’Leary, R. S., & Meyrowitz, M. M. (2013).
Building a High-Performance Culture: A Fresh Look at Performance Management.
SHRM.
Tee, D. D., & Ahmed, P. K. (2014). 360 degree feedback: an integrative framework for
learning and assessment. Teaching in Higher Education, 1-13.