Supervison in the hospitality industry review questions

Chapter 6 The benefits of conducting performance evaluations to the employees are providing regular feedback to employees that will help avoid guesswork and misunderstanding, identifying employees’ strengths and areas for improvement, and preparing employees for their career management plans. The benefits of conducting performance evaluations to supervisors are improved relationship with employees and better employee performance. The benefits of conducting performance evaluations to the management team are that the information from evaluations guides decisions for compensation, job actions, and training programs, and these evaluations can improve employee morale and customer service.
2. The obstacles that may interfere with effective performance evaluation programs are unskilled supervisors, ineffective forms, irregularly done evaluations, fear of offending employees and unfairness, failure to follow up, and inadequate procedures.
3. Some of the common errors to avoid when evaluating employee performance are recency errors, past-anchoring errors, halo errors, pitchfork errors, leniency errors, severity errors, and central-tendency errors.
4. Some comparative methods of evaluating employee performance are simple ranking approach, alternative ranking approach, paired comparison approach, and forced distribution approach. They are different because of the differences in how they compare their employees to one another, as they differentiate the best from the worst performers.
5. Some approaches to performance evaluations that incorporate absolute standards are critical incidents approach, weighted checklist approach, forced choice approach, graphic rating scale, and behaviorally anchored rating scale (BARS).
6. Supervisors and employees work together to determine goals in management by objectives (MBO) method of performance evaluation by establishing evaluation procedures and following these procedures.
7. Supervisors should handle a good employee’s personal problems in terms of his/her performance through referring them to professionals who can help them.
8. The steps that a supervisor should take before, during, and after conducting performance evaluations are: before the interview, supervisors should review the employee’s job description and present a list of questions to employees that they should answer during the interview (so that the latter can prepare adequately); during the interview, supervisors should create a friendly and relaxed atmosphere, take notes on most important points, and review the evaluation forms thoroughly; and after the interview, review the notes taken during the interview, give the employee a copy of the evaluation, and follow up and do coaching as needed.
9. Coaching is different from disciplining because the former persuades better performance and corrects performance issues. However, coaching can also be an early step to a progressive disciplining program, as it improves performance by providing feedback. Coaching is different from counseling because the latter focuses only on personal problems and attitudes toward work, while coaching emphasizes the employee’s general growth and development.
10. Supervisors can set performance goals with employees through coaching, specifically when setting clear performance goals and determining ways on how to attain them.
11. Supervisors should use these tasks in conducting an informal coaching activity: use positive reinforcement, re-state expectations, and continuously reinforce and teach correct procedures.
12. Supervisors should do the following to prepare, conduct, and follow up formal coaching sessions: in preparing for formal coaching sessions, they must have definite objectives, gather background information, and consult with employee and review schedules; in conducting formal coaching sessions, supervisors must conduct sessions privately and minimize interruptions; and for follow up formal coaching sessions, supervisors should give employees the help and coaching they need to improve their performance.
Chapter 7
1. Discipline should not be a form of punishment because it does not effectively lead to long-term workplace performance or behavioral changes.
2. Some supervisors dislike disciplining employees because they think that disciplining leads to lower employee morale and satisfaction.
3. Every disciplinary situation should not be handled in exactly the same way because diverse factors affect the causes of bad behaviors in the workplace.
4. The relationship between training, performance discussions, and discipline is that discipline becomes a form of coaching that trains people of their strengths and weaknesses, and so disciplining becomes part of ongoing performance discussion. If supervisors detect that bad behaviors come from lack of information or poor training, then they can also modify training content and practices.
5. The common components of a progressive discipline program are: oral warning, written warning, official written reprimand put on employee’s file, suspension of a few hours or days without pay, disciplinary transfer or demotion, one-last-chance step before termination, and termination.
6. Supervisors can avoid wrongful discharge lawsuits through having well-thought-out discipline programs and receiving sufficient training in applying these programs.
7. Supervisors should consider the following before taking disciplinary action against an employee: outside factors that may have affected behaviors, employees’ knowledge of performance standards, and past disciplinary actions.
8. A supervisor can identify the probable causes of a situation that might warrant disciplinary action by gathering facts and exploring probable causes.
9. The first things that a supervisor should address with an employee in a disciplinary session are describing the performance gap and identifying the causes of the problem.
10. A supervisor can help an employee identify the cause of a disciplinary problem by asking them to explain the reasons for their behaviors. A supervisor can help an employee identify the solution to a disciplinary problem by asking them for improvement ideas, other suggestions, and agreeing on specific solutions and timeframes.