THE PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL FEEDBACK INTERVIEW: A ROLE-PLAY FOR HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGEMENT Developments In Business Simulation & Experiential Exercises, Volume 17, 1990 226 THE PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL FEEDBACK INTERVIEW: A ROLE-PLAY FOR HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGEMENT Anne S. Davis and Eugene C. Baten Central Connecticut State University ABSTRACT A simulation is developed to train students of management to conduct an effective performance upon aspects of role-play and behavioral role modeling behavioral skills to conduct this form of interpersonal communication. INTRODUCTION Feedback is crucial to improving performance of individuals in the work place. Feedback is information that increases employees’ 1) knowledge about their performance, 2) motivation through the knowledge of the behaviors that must be performed to achieve rewards, and 3) knowledge of the rewards that are associated with performance. The performance appraisal feedback interview should provide this information. Students, therefore benefit from learning to conduct a performance appraisal feedback interview. A simulated interview provides practice with the uncomfortable setting and teaches the student to make the interview beneficial for the employee. The Performance Appraisal Feedback Interview For performance appraisal feedback to be effective, the recipient of the feedback must accept and utilize the information (Ilgen, Fisher & Taylor, 1979) Acceptance depends on the source of the information, the nature of the message and the disposition of the recipient. To ensure that negative feedback is accepted, Meyer, Kay and French (1965) recommend 1) preparing recipient for negative feedback, 20 couching negative feedback in positive terms, 3) make negative feedback very specific, and 4) reinforce negative feedback with examples. Feedback alone is not sufficient to improve performance. An extensive review of feedback and goal setting studies reveal that both are necessary to improved performance, Ten behaviors that characterize an effective developmental performance appraisal interview are (Schuler et. Al., 1989): 10 Make comments specific using examples of behaviors, 2) Focus on employee behaviors, not the person, 3) Give helpful feedback, not hurtful, $0 Focus on factors that can be improved or changed, 5) Share information, don’t give advice, 6) Encourage the employee to solicit information rather than impose it upon him/he, 7) Avoid information overload. Point out only a few, most critical problems, 8) Establish specific, agreed-upon goals for improvement, and 10) Ensure communication clarity in both directions. Role Play and Behavioral Role Modeling Role Playing is the process whereby students are placed in a simulated environment to act out a Characterization generally without benefit of a script. Behavioral role modeling differs from the role-play in that the student first observes an effective role model and then must imitate the role model’s behaviors. The effectiveness of the role play or behavioral role modeling is modified by the realism of the setting, the willingness of the student to participate, social acceptance of peers and the perceived value of the exercise (Goldstein, 1986) PROCEDURE The instructor and class should discuss the characteristics of effective performance appraisal feedback. Student s are then divided into groups of five and numbered one to five. Students are asked to adopt one of the roles- advisor, student or one of three observers. All group members are provided with a copy of the student’s performance appraisal. The ten- minute interview with the student, observers provide a total of five minutes of feedback to the advisor indication effective an ineffective behaviors, Roles are then rotated at the conclusion of the interviews. Instructors should conduct a fifteen-minute summary. DISCUSSION This role-play contains the elements that make it an effective learning tool. First it is realistic. Second, students are willing to participate in exercise where they see relevance to their work experiences and performance feedback is familiar to this exercise. The most interesting aspect of this exercise is the role played by the observers. Observers are given five minutes to critique the advisor’s role. This critique is another performance appraisal feedback interview! REFERENCES Goldstein, T.L. (1986). Training in organizations: Needs assessment, development and evaluation second edition. Monterrey, Ca: Brooks/Cole Publishing Co. Ilgen, D.R., Fisher, C.D., Taylor, M.S. (1979). Consequence of individual feedback on behavior in organizations. Journal of Applied Psychology. 64: 349-371 Meyer, H.H, Kay, E. & French, J>P>P> (1965). Split roles in performance appraisals. Harvard Business Review 43: 123-129. Schuler, R.S. Beutell, N.J., Youngblood, S.A. (1989). Effective personnel management. St. Paul, MN: West Publishing Co. Table of Contents Volume 17, 1990 The Impact of Decision Support Systems on the Effectiveness of Small Group Decisions - Revisited The Relationship Between Financial Performance and Other Measures of Learning on a Simulation Exercise Use and Effectiveness of an Analogy-Based Expert System Suggestions for Computerized Business Authors Dealing with Power: An Experiential Exercise Using Movie and Personal Diary Analysis Techniques A Model for Developing Student Skills and Assessing Outcomes Through Outdoor Training Computer-Aided Exercises Versus Workbook Exercises as Learning Facilitator in the Principles of Marketing Course An Exposition of Guilford's Si Model as a Means of Diagnosing and Generating Pedagogical Strategies in Collegiate Business Education Formal Planning and Simulation Team Performance: A Cross Sectional Approach Cases: Real Organizations in Real Time in the Classroom An Empirical Investigation of the Internal Validity of Marketing Simulation Game An Empirical Evaluation of the Pedagogical Value of Playing a Simulation Game in a Principles of Marketing Course Factors Affecting Effective Teaching of Strategic Planning: Some Preliminary Evidence An Experiential Exercise for Learning About the Relationship Between Organizational Form & the Project Management Process Accounting Communication Skills can be Taught in the Auditing Course Modeling Cost Functions in Computerized Business Simulation: An Application of Duality Theory and Sheppard's Lemma A Life Cycle Analysis of Decision Making for a Strategic Management Team What's the Problem? A Dynamic Model for Teaching Problem Solving Skills Experientially International Currency Fluctuations: Money$im, A Simulation Superstores: A Specialized Retailing Simulation Within a Specialized Marketing Curriculum Factors Affecting Student Perceptions of Learning in a Business Policy Game VC + EL = VL The Name Game: An Experiential Exercise in Intergroup Relations The Effects of Experiential Accounting Work Experience on Student Performance in Intermediate Accounting Courses The Results of Using the Experiential Activity Group Performance Evaluation in a Business Policy Setting Using a Legal Database to Describe the Legal Environment of Marketing (and Business) Matching Environmental Uncertainty and Organizational Configuration An Instructional Computer Simulation of Tampering in QC Executive Evaluation of Student Learning in the Looking Glass Simulation Group Personality Composition and Total Enterprise Simulation Performance An Expert System for Selecting Analytical Techniques for Analyzing Marketing Research Data Effects of Cognitive Styles on Responses in an In-Basket Simulation A Psychometric Analysis of Kolb's Revised Learning Style-Inventory Selecting and Developing Experiential Exercises Using Movies Application of a Real-World Strategic Management Model in the Classroom Demand Equations which Include Product Attributes Consumption as the Objective in Computer-Scored Total Enterprise Simulations The Effects of Decision Format and Evaluation on Simulation Performance, Decision Time, and Team Cohesion The Effects of Computer Related Assignments on Student Performance in Business Administration The Money Game: A Dynamic Simulation Including Random Shocks for Money and Banking Courses Methods for Evaluating Performance on Business Simulations: A Survey The Effects of Synergogy on the Policy Course: Significant Improvements in Student Learning and Teacher Evaluation Conditions and Outcomes of Trust in a Two-Person Bargaining Exercise Bankgame Enhancing Computer Business Simulation with the Use of VGA Graphics An Experiential Approach to Entrepreneurship An Advanced Simulation Method (ASM) for Multiple Objective Problems The Influence of Experiential learning Techniques on Student Recognition of Non-Primary Learning Styles Negotiating Mergers and Acquisitions: A Cocktail Napkin Approach Identification of Unintended Effects in Experiential Laboratory Exercises An Experimental Comparison of Paper and Pencil and Computer Aided Decision Support Tools Porting a Simulation from the IBM World to the Macintosh World A Transaction Cost Analysis of Experiential Learning The Development of Experiential Exercises for Courses in Entrepreneurship and Small Business Management The Assessment Center as and Experiential Classroom Exercise Pricing Strategy Algorithms for Playing Business Simulations Organizational Structures for International Operations: An Experiential Activity Simulation Emphasis in the Business School Capstone Course An Integrated Approach to Computerizing the Business Curriculum Cross-Cultural Business Negotiations Exercise Organizational Socialization and Gender Differences in Students at Work Understanding Student Work Experience: A Content-Analytic Approach Introducing Executive MBA Programs with Management Games An Analysis of Improvement in Business Decision Outcome with Sequential Use of Two Simulation Games Teaching Business Policy Utilizing Mass Lecture and Individual Case Labs Potholes Along the Road to Evaluating Learning Outcomes: The Case of Outdoor Management Training Experiential Learning for Interior Design Students: Using CADD, Lotus 1-2-3, and Wordperfect Cognitive Learning Using a Computer-Based, Qualitative Interactive Business Simulation Sex Discrimination: Does the Woman get the Job or Does the Best Man Win? A Search for Visual Aids to Support Experiential Learning Through the 1990's An Experimental Analysis fo the Effectiveness of Student Role-Playing in Sales Training How to Have Students Learn from their Term Projects Self-Evaluation Exercise (SEE): An Assessment of Class Contribution A Study of the Influence of Team Formation on Attitudes and Performance in Management Games A Hardware Based CIM Simulation Laboratory Model Test Substance Abuse in Organizations Micro Computer Training Models Teaching Forecasting, Cash Budgeting and Inventory Model Building Using SBTools A Comparison of the Effects of Experiential Learning Activities and Traditional Lecture Classes An Adjunct Writing Instruction Assistant, The Computer; With an Illustration Classroom Software for ABC Analysis Utilizing Information Processing Technology to Enhance the Business Policy Simulation Experience Progressive Cases Realistic Job Previews Vs. Traditional Job Previews: Experiencing the Differences and Understanding the Consequences Investment Analysis Using the Pragmatic Multiplier Approach A Computer Simulation Interface for Competitive and Firm Analysis Self-Assessment of Ethical Decision Making Predispositions Preparing Managers for Overseas Assignments An Inquiry into Japanese Marketing: Workshop on Teaching Japanese Marketing The Performance Appraisal Feedback Interview: A Role Play for Human Resources Management Teaching Counselor Selling techniques Using Experiential Techniques to Teach International Topics International Management Simulation Gaming: Current Status and Future Developments A Realism Comparison of Simulation Technologies/Methodologies A Time-Efficient Game to Illustrate Concepts Taught in Management Courses and Management Development Programs Teaching the Management of Technology The Concept of Face and the Applicability of Experiential Exercises in an Oriental Culture's