Performance Management
Arthur Barbier
“The Best and the Rest: Revisiting the Norm of Normality of
Individual Performance”
ERNEST O’BOYLE JR.
Department of Management College of Business and Economics
Longwood University
HERMAN AGUINIS
Department of Management and Entrepreneurship
Kelley School of Business Indiana University
Key terms
Normal Distribution: Type of distribution diagram described as “bell shaped
curve” with symmetrical tails.
Pareto Distribution: Vertical bar graph in which values are plotted in
decreasing order of relative frequency from left to right.
Individual Performance Evaluation (IPE): The job related evaluation of
activities expected of a worker and how well those activities were
executed.
Purpose
Perception of performance distribution:
Normal VS Pareto
Causes issues within workplace:
Merit & Equality
Create balance within organization
Normal VS Pareto
Results
Distribution of individual performance
Paretian Distribution - both studies
Few individuals perform outstandingly
“The rest” perform averagely
Take Home Message
Pareto Distribution should be widely preferred
Mismanagement
Detrimental effect on organization
Must balance allocation of resources accordingly
Semi-annual seminars
Train and manage
Top-performer & “the rest”
Validity of selection procedures
Do Candidate Reactions Relate to Job Performance or Affect Criterion-Related Validity?
Jane Kreiss
Julie M. Mc Carthy
Van Iddekinge
Filip Lievens
Mei-Chuan Kung
Evan F. Sinar
Michael A. Campion
Chad H.
Key terms
Criterion Validity: Criterion-related validity looks at the relationship
between a test score and an outcome
Dispositional Reactions: Similar to mood, is a personality trait or overall
tendency to respond to situations in stable, predictable ways
Situational Reactions: Response to surroundings or circumstances
Procedural Justice: Concerns the fairness and the transparency of the
processes by which decisions are made
Purpose
To develop a framework to help understand whether and when reactions can
have both direct and indirect effects on job performance
Direct and Indirect Effects of Test Reactions on Test
Scores and Job Performance for Product
Method
The sample comprised of 2,959 employees
Participants: Customer representatives & Product technicians
3 Selection Tests
work sample test, situational judgment, personality
Candidate reactions were assessed including anxiety
Job performance ratings
Results
Test Taking Anxiety
Different effect on job performance
Customer service representatives - No significance
Product technicians - Direct effect on job performance
Take Home Message
Certain types of test reactions can have both direct and indirect effects on
job performance
It depends...
Reactions do not affect the criterion-related validity of selection procedures
for the prediction of job performance
So...this is not reliable at this time!