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The human resource department of Alpha-Omega Corp. is reviewing its performance

ID: 435746 • Letter: T

Question

The human resource department of Alpha-Omega Corp. is reviewing its performance management system to make sure it can show fairness if an employee ever complains of discrimination. Which of the following statements is a problem that must be addressed if Alpha-Omega is to meet that goal?

a) Research shows that female managers give fairer appraisals than male managers.

b) Most appraisal instruments are so objective that supervisors find them inflexible.

c) Employees assume that rating errors are common, though they are rare.

d) Evidence shows that raters tend to give higher ratings to persons of the rater's own race.

e) Performance management systems often punish people for whistleblowing.

Explanation / Answer

Option (d) is the correct answer.

The selection guidelines of Uniform Guidelines on Employee Selection Procedures are also applicable for performance management. They require that organizations avoid using criteria such as race and age as a basis for employment/ appraisal decisions. To demonstrate fairness as a response to an employee's complaint of discrimination, Alpha-Omega Corp. must eliminate (d). Options (a), (b) , and (e) are irrelevant. Option (c) could have been correct if the errors were not rare.