Chapter 2: Job Performance

Job Performance

Learning Goals What is job performance? What is task performance? How do organizations identify the behaviours that underlie task performance? What is citizenship behaviour? What is counterproductive behaviour? How can organizations use job performance information to manage employee performance? © McGraw-Hill Ryerson Ltd. 2013

What is Job Performance? Job performance is the value of the set of employee behaviours that contribute, either positively or negatively, to organizational goal accomplishment. Includes behaviours that are within the control of the employees. Places a boundary on which behaviours are (and are not) relevant to job performance. © McGraw-Hill Ryerson Ltd. 2013

What Does It Mean to be a “Good Performer?” Task performance includes employee behaviours that are directly involved in the transformation of organizational resources into the goods or services that the organization produces. Citizenship behaviour Counterproductive behaviour © McGraw-Hill Ryerson Ltd. 2013

Task Performance Routine task performance involves well-known responses to demands that occur in a normal, routine, or otherwise predictable way. Starting a car Adaptive task performance, or more commonly “adaptability,” involves employee responses to task demands that are novel, unusual, or, at the very least, unpredictable. Avoiding a stalled vehicle Creative task performance is the degree to which individuals develop ideas or physical outcomes that are both novel and useful. © McGraw-Hill Ryerson Ltd. 2013

Behaviours Involved in Adaptability © McGraw-Hill Ryerson Ltd. 2013

Job Analysis Many organizations identify task performance behaviors by conducting a job analysis. A list of the activities involved in a job is generated. Observation, interview, survey Each activity on this list is rated by “subject matter experts” according to things like the importance and frequency of the activity. The activities that are rated highly in terms of their importance and frequency are retained and used to define task performance. © McGraw-Hill Ryerson Ltd. 2013

Performance Review Form Customer Service Representative at the Bank © McGraw-Hill Ryerson Ltd. 2013

National Occupational Classification The National Occupational Classification (or NOC) is the nationally accepted reference to occupations in Canada. It organizes over 30,000 job titles into 520 job descriptions (http://www5.hrsdc.gc.ca/noc). Another useful resource is the Occupational Information Network (or O*NET). O*NET is U.S.-based resource that includes job information that would be relevant for many Canadian-based jobs. (http://www.onetonline.org/). For either NOC or O*NET, task information from these on-line sources should be supplemented with information regarding behaviours that support the organization’s values and strategy. © McGraw-Hill Ryerson Ltd. 2013

Task Performance Behaviours Task performance behaviours are not simply performed versus not performed. Although poor performers often fail to complete required behaviours, it is just as true that the best performers often exceed all expectations for those behaviours. Going the “extra mile” © McGraw-Hill Ryerson Ltd. 2013

Discussion Questions How important is it to organizations that employees go “above and beyond” their actual job duties? Is this what separates truly exceptional employees from those we might consider “average”? © McGraw-Hill Ryerson Ltd. 2013

Citizenship Behaviour Voluntary employee activities that may or may not be rewarded but that contribute to the organization by improving the overall quality of the setting in which work takes place. Interpersonal Helping, courtesy, sportsmanship Organizational Voice, civic virtue, boosterism © McGraw-Hill Ryerson Ltd. 2013

Types of Citizenship Behaviours © McGraw-Hill Ryerson Ltd. 2013

Interpersonal Citizenship Behaviour Behaviours that benefit coworkers and colleagues and involve assisting, supporting, and developing other organizational members in a way that goes beyond normal job expectations. Helping involves assisting coworkers who have heavy workloads, etc. Courtesy refers to keeping coworkers informed about matters that are relevant to them. Sportsmanship involves maintaining a good attitude with coworkers, even when they’ve done something annoying. © McGraw-Hill Ryerson Ltd. 2013

Organizational Citizenship Behaviours Behaviours that benefit the larger organization by supporting and defending the company, working to improve its operations, and being especially loyal to it. Voice involves speaking up and offering constructive suggestions for change. Civic virtue requires participating in the company’s operations at a deeper-than-normal level. Boosterism means representing the organization in a positive way when out in public, away from the office, and away from work. © McGraw-Hill Ryerson Ltd. 2013

Citizenship Behaviours Relevant in virtually any job, regardless of the particular nature of its tasks, and there are clear benefits of these behaviours in terms of the effectiveness of work units and organizations. Become even more vital during organizational crises, when beneficial suggestions, deep employee involvement, and a positive “public face” are critical. © McGraw-Hill Ryerson Ltd. 2013

Counterproductive Behaviours Counterproductive behaviours are employee behaviours that intentionally hinder organizational goal accomplishment. Property deviance refers to behaviours that harm the organization’s assets and possessions. Production deviance is also directed against the organization but focuses specifically on reducing the efficiency of work output. Political deviance refers to behaviours that intentionally disadvantage other individuals rather than the larger organization. Personal aggression refers to hostile verbal and physical actions directed toward other employees. © McGraw-Hill Ryerson Ltd. 2013

Types of Counterproductive Behaviours © McGraw-Hill Ryerson Ltd. 2013

Laser discs, restaurants Property Deviance Sabotage represents the purposeful destruction of physical equipment, organizational processes, or company products. Laser discs, restaurants Theft represents another form of property deviance and can be just as expensive as sabotage (if not more). Costs organizations approximately $14.6 billion per year © McGraw-Hill Ryerson Ltd. 2013

Working too slowly, taking too many breaks Production Deviance Wasting resources is the most common form of production deviance, when employees use too many materials or too much time to do too little work. Working too slowly, taking too many breaks Substance abuse is the abuse of drugs or alcohol before coming to work or while on the job. Compromises efficiency © McGraw-Hill Ryerson Ltd. 2013

Political Deviance Gossiping is having casual conversations about other people in which the facts are not confirmed as true. Undermines morale Incivility represents communication that is rude, impolite, discourteous, and lacking in good manners. © McGraw-Hill Ryerson Ltd. 2013

Personal Aggression Harassment occurs when employees are subjected to unwanted physical contact or verbal remarks from a colleague. Abuse occurs when an employee is assaulted or endangered in such a way that physical and psychological injuries may occur. © McGraw-Hill Ryerson Ltd. 2013

Counterproductive Behaviour, Cont’d There is evidence that people who engage in one form of counterproductive behaviour also engage in others. Represent a pattern of behaviour rather than isolated incidents Counterproductive behaviour is relevant to any job. It doesn’t matter what the job entails; there are going to be things to steal, resources to waste, and people to be uncivil toward. It is often surprising which employees engage in counterproductive behaviour. © McGraw-Hill Ryerson Ltd. 2013

Where should the line be drawn? Discussion Question How much “counterproductive” behaviour should a company have to put up with? Where should the line be drawn? © McGraw-Hill Ryerson Ltd. 2013

So, What Does It Mean to Be a Good Performer? Good at the particular job tasks that fall within job description. Engages in citizenship behaviours directed at both coworkers and the larger organization. Refrains from engaging in the counterproductive behaviours that can so badly damage the climate of an organization. © McGraw-Hill Ryerson Ltd. 2013

What Does it Mean to be a “Good Performer?” © McGraw-Hill Ryerson Ltd. 2013

Application: Performance Management Management by objectives (MBO) is a management philosophy that bases an employee’s evaluations on whether the employee achieves specific performance goals. Best suited for managing the performance of employees who work in contexts in which objective measures of performance can be quantified. Behaviorally anchored rating scales (BARS) assess performance by directly assessing job performance behaviors. © McGraw-Hill Ryerson Ltd. 2013

Performance Management, cont’d The 360 degree feedback approach involves collecting performance information not just from the supervisor but from anyone else who might have firsthand knowledge about the employee’s performance behaviors. Best suited to improving or developing employee talent. Forced ranking forces managers to rank all of their people into one of three categories: the top 20 percent (A players), the vital middle 70 percent (B players), or the bottom 10 percent (C players). © McGraw-Hill Ryerson Ltd. 2013

Vitality Curve © McGraw-Hill Ryerson Ltd. 2013

Performance Management, cont’d Social networking systems, such as Facebook and Twitter, have recently been applied in organizational contexts for the purposes of developing and evaluating employee job performance. These types of systems provide performance information that is much more timely, relative to traditional practices that measure performance quarterly or even yearly. © McGraw-Hill Ryerson Ltd. 2013

Has anyone here been through a 360-degree appraisal process? Discussion Questions Has anyone here been through a 360-degree appraisal process? How did it make you feel? How do you like the idea of your peers evaluating your performance? © McGraw-Hill Ryerson Ltd. 2013

Takeaways Job performance is the set of employee behaviours that contribute to organizational goal accomplishment. Job performance has three dimensions: task performance, citizenship behaviour, and counterproductive behaviour. Task performance includes employee behaviours that are directly involved in the transformation of organizational resources into the goods or services that the organization produces. Examples of task performance include routine task performance, adaptive task performance, and creative task performance. © McGraw-Hill Ryerson Ltd. 2013

Takeaways, Cont’d Organizations gather information about relevant task behaviours using job analysis and the National Occupational Classification Citizenship behaviours are voluntary employee activities that may or may not be rewarded but that contribute to the organization by improving the overall quality of the setting in which work takes place. © McGraw-Hill Ryerson Ltd. 2013

Takeaways, Cont’d Counterproductive behaviours are employee behaviours that intentionally hinder organizational goal accomplishment. A number of trends have affected job performance in today’s organizations, including the rise of knowledge work and the increase in service jobs. The MBO, BARS, 360 degree feedback, and forced ranking practices are four ways that organizations can use job performance information to manage employee performance. © McGraw-Hill Ryerson Ltd. 2013