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Part I: Strategic and General Considerations___________________________________________________

Chapter Outline

Overview
1. Definition of Performance Management (PM)
2. The Performance Management Contribution
3. Disadvantages/Dangers of Poorly Implemented PM Systems
4. Definition of Reward Systems
5. Aims and Role of PM Systems
6. Characteristics of an Ideal PM System
7. Integration with Other Human Resources and Development Activities
8. Performance Management Around the World

1. Definition of Performance Management (PM)


Continuous process of
Identifying performance of individuals and teams
Measuring performance of individuals and teams
Developing performance of individuals and teams
Aligning performance with the strategic goals of the organization

 How did Sally’s behavior fit this description?


 Let’s take a survey here. Raise your hand if your company’s performance
review system actually helps you improve your performance. How does our
class compare with the Watson Wyatt finding that 30 percent of employees
believe their company’s performance review system actually helps employees
improve performance?

PM is NOT performance appraisal.


• PM
o Strategic business considerations
o Ongoing feedback
o So employee can improve performance
o Driven by line manager
• Performance appraisal
o Assesses employee
• Strengths
• Weaknesses
o Once a year
o Lacks ongoing feedback
o Driven by HR

2. The Performance Management Contribution


For Employees
Clarify definition of job and success criteria
Increase motivation to perform
Increase self-esteem
Enhance self-insight and development
For Managers
Supervisors communicate views of performance more clearly
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Chapter 1
Managers gain insight about subordinates
There is better, more timely, identification of good and poor performance
Employee performance improves
For Organization/HR Function
Clarify organizational goals
Facilitate organizational change
Administrative actions are more fair and appropriate
There is better protection from lawsuits

 How did PM help IBM switch to a customer service focus in the 1980s?
3. Disadvantages/Dangers of Poorly-implemented PM Systems
For Employees
Lowered self-esteem
Employee burnout and job dissatisfaction
Damaged relationships
Use of misleading information
For Managers
Increased turnover
Decreased motivation to perform
Unjustified demands on managerial resources
Varying and unfair standards and ratings
For Organization
Wasted time and money
Derivation of ratings is a mystery.
Biases can replace standards.
Risk of litigation increases.

 From the reading so far, give at least two examples of ways in which poorly
implemented PM systems can hurt the organization.

4. Definition of Reward Systems


Set of mechanisms for distributing
o Tangible returns
 Cash compensation
 Benefits
o Intangible or relational returns
 As part of an employment relationship

o Tangible returns
 Cash compensation
 Base pay
 Cost-of-living and contingent pay
 Incentives (short- and long-term)
 Benefits such as
 Income protection
 Allowances
 Work/life focus
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Part I: Strategic and General Considerations___________________________________________________

Which of these reward systems are more likely to be based on seniority than on
performance?
What kind of returns did Delta Petroleum offer to its top executives? How
might these returns affect performance?

o Intangible or relational returns


 Recognition and status
 Employment security
 Challenging work
 Learning opportunities

What kinds of intangible returns does Sun Microsystems provide to its employees?
How would such intangible returns improve performance?

Returns and Their Degree of Dependency on the Performance Management System


Return (Degree of Dependency)
 Cost of Living Adjustment (Low)
 Income Protection (Low)
 Work/Life Focus (Moderate)
 Allowances (Moderate)
 Relational Returns (Moderate)
 Base Pay (Moderate)
 Contingent Pay (High)
 Short-term Incentives (High)
 Long-term Incentives (High)

 Consider the returns at an employer you know about; how do they relate to the PM
system?

5. Aims and Role of PM Systems

Purposes of PM Systems (Overview)


 Strategic
 Administrative
 Informational
 Developmental
 Organizational maintenance
 Documentation

Strategic Purpose
o Link individual goals with organization’s goals
o Communicate most crucial business strategic initiatives

Administrative Purpose
o Provide information for making decisions in reference to:
 Salary adjustments

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Chapter 1
 Promotions
 Retention or termination
 Recognition of individual performance
 Merit increases
 Identification of poor performers
 Layoffs

Informational Purpose
o Communicate to Employees
 Expectations
 Organization
 Supervisor
 What is important
 How they are doing
 How to improve

Developmental Purpose
o Performance feedback/coaching
o Identification of individual strengths and weaknesses
o Identification of causes of performance deficiencies
o Tailor development of individual career path

Organizational Maintenance Purpose


o Plan effective workforce
 Anticipate/respond to future needs
 Determine priorities and allocate resources
 Perform talent inventory
o Assess future training needs
o Evaluate performance at organizational level
o Evaluate effectiveness of HR interventions

Documentation Purpose
o Validate selection instruments
o Document administrative decisions
o Help meet legal requirements

Purposes of PM Systems (Summary)


 Strategic
 Administrative
 Informational
 Developmental
 Organizational maintenance
 Documentation

 How well does the PM system at SELCO Credit Union meet these purposes? What
about a system you are familiar with?

6. Characteristics of an Ideal PM System


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Part I: Strategic and General Considerations___________________________________________________

Overview
 Congruent with organizational strategy
 Thorough
 Practical
 Meaningful
 Specific
 Identifies effective and ineffective performance
 Reliable
 Valid
 Acceptable and Fair
 Inclusive
 Open
 Correctable
 Standardized
 Ethical

Strategically Congruent
o Consistent with organization’s strategy
o Aligned with unit and organizational goals

Contextually Congruent
o Congruent with the organization’s culture as well as the broader cultural
context of the region or country
 Example: A 360-degree-feedback is not effective where
communication is not fluid and hierarchies are rigid.

Thorough
o All employees are evaluated.
o All major job responsibilities are evaluated.
o Evaluations cover performance for the entire review period.
o Feedback is given on both positive and negative performance.

Practical
o Available
o Easy to use
o Acceptable to decision makers
o Benefits outweigh costs

Meaningful
o Standards are important and relevant.
o System measures ONLY what employee can control.
o Results have consequences (used for important administrative decisions).
o Evaluations occur regularly and at appropriate times.
o System provides for continuing skill development of evaluators.

Specific
o Concrete and detailed guidance to employees

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Chapter 1
 What’s expected
 How to meet the expectations

Identifies effective and ineffective performance


o Distinguish between effective and ineffective
 Behaviors
 Results
o Provide ability to identify employees with various levels of performance

Reliable
o Consistent
o Free of error
o Inter-rater reliability
Valid
o Relevant (i.e., measures what is important)
o Not deficient (i.e., doesn’t measure unimportant facets of job)
o Not contaminated (i.e., only measures what the employee can control)

Acceptable and Fair


o Perception of Distributive Justice
 Work performed  evaluation received  reward
o Perception of Procedural Justice
 Fairness of procedures used to
 Determine ratings
 Link ratings to rewards

How can different cultures challenge this requirement in international


companies?

Inclusive
o Represents concerns of all involved
 When system is created, employees should help with deciding
 What should be measured
 How it should be measured
 Employee should provide input on performance prior to evaluation
meeting.

Open (No Secrets)


o Frequent, ongoing evaluations and feedback
o Two-way communications in appraisal meeting
o Clear standards and ongoing communication
o Communications are factual, open, and honest

Correctable
o Recognizes that human judgment is fallible
o Appeals process provided

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Part I: Strategic and General Considerations___________________________________________________
Standardized
o Ongoing training of managers to provide consistent evaluations across
 People
 Time

Ethical
o Supervisor suppresses self-interest.
o Supervisor rates only where he or she has sufficient information about the
performance dimension.
o Supervisor respects employee privacy.

 What did the Mercer study show could be the payoff if an ideal PM system were
implemented?
 When you think about PM systems you have observed, what characteristics of an ideal
system are most common?
 What characteristics of an ideal PM system seem most likely to be absent in systems
you have observed?

7. Integration with Other Human Resources and Development Activities


PM provides information for:
o Development of training to meet organizational needs
o Workforce planning
o Recruitment and hiring decisions
o Development of compensation systems

8. Performance Management Around the World


o PM is used in a number of countries including the United States, Mexico,
Turkey, India, Australia, China, South Korea, Japan, U.K., Germany, Bulgaria,
Romania, and France.
o The needs to 1) align individual and organizational goals and 2) enhance the
performance of individuals and groups are common across countries.
o Yet, different countries emphasize different components of PM.
 Example 1: PMs in Japan tend to emphasize behaviors to the
detriment of results.
 Example 2: The current challenge among many organizations in
South Korea is how to reconcile a merit-based approach with more
traditional cultural values.

Performance Management (PM) in Context: Summary


1. Definition of Performance Management (PM)
2. The Performance Management Contribution
3. Disadvantages/Dangers of Poorly Implemented PM Systems
4. Definition of Reward Systems
5. Aims and Role of PM Systems
6. Characteristics of an Ideal PM system
7. Integration with Other Human Resources and Development Activities
8. Performance Management Around the World

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Copyright © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall
Chapter 1

Review Learning Objectives

Worked Solutions for End-of-Chapter Cases

Case Study 1.2: Performance Management at Network Solutions, Inc.

1. Overall, the performance management system at Network Solutions fits the


characteristics of an ideal system nicely.
(Suggested points: 3, [1.8])

2. It has strategic congruence; it encourages a thorough and continuous evaluation


process; the results will be used to make important decisions; expectations of
employees are clearly communicated; the plan discriminates among high,
average, and low performers; employee input is gathered before the meeting; and
it encourages ongoing communication between manager and employee. However,
there is not enough information presented to know if the standards that employees
are rated on are relevant and under the employee’s control, or if there is an
appeals process in place. Furthermore, reliability and validity information of the
system will need to be assessed. Finally, data will be needed (possibly collected
by the HR function) to assess whether employees see the system as fair, whether
it is being used ethically, and whether the benefits of the system outweigh its
costs.
(Suggested points: 5, [1.8])

3. Advantages/positive outcomes of successfully implementing this system include:


a. Raising the bar of performance and aggressively managing performance
b. Cascading organizational goals to individual contributors, setting
objectives to meet these goals, and planning development activities to
ensure that objectives are met
c. Ability to track talent profile and compare it to business performance
d. Enhanced communication around employee development
e. Improved employee satisfaction and loyalty
f. Increased risk taking for innovation and technology breakthroughs
g. Increased trust between manager and employee
h. Increased collaboration
(Suggested points: 3, [1.3])

4. Disadvantages of implementing this system include:


a. Poor performers may be retained to meet the 10 percent quota
b. Increased risk of discrimination litigation
c. Hiring mediocre talent to satisfy the bottom 10 percent quota
d. Promote internal competition, undermining team collaboration
e. May drive unethical behavior, as employees do whatever it takes to
compete
f. Everyone takes a turn being a “token 3”
g. The forced distribution may not reflect actual performance, and there may
be penalization of (a) good performers in high performing teams and (b)
good managers who hire well and manage all performers actively

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Copyright © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall
Part I: Strategic and General Considerations___________________________________________________

(Suggested points: 3, [1.3])

Case Study 1.3: Distinguishing Performance Management Systems from


Performance Appraisal Systems

A performance management system is a multidimensional concept. Performance


management is a 1) continuous process of 2) identifying, 3) measuring, 4) setting goals,
and 5) developing/coaching the performance of individuals and teams. At the same time,
a performance management system involves the 6) alignment of performance with the
strategic goals of the organization. In short, a performance management system broadly
consists of the six elements just mentioned.

In contrast, a performance appraisal system consists of only two of the elements of a


performance management system (i.e., the identification and measurement of individual
and team performance). In other words, a performance appraisal system is a non-
continuous (e.g., once-a-year) systematic description of an employee’s strengths and
weaknesses. It does not include any ongoing effort to provide goal-setting,
development/coaching, or strategic alignment of employees’ performance with
organizational goals. Therefore, a performance appraisal system is a component of a
performance management system.

Clarifying the distinction between a performance appraisal system and a performance


management system reveals three types of criticisms against a performance-related
system. First, recall that two elements, a) the identification and b) measurement of
individual/team performance, are included in both a performance appraisal system and a
performance management system. However, four other elements, c) continuous process;
d) goal-setting; e) development/coaching; and f) strategic alignment, are included in a
performance management system but not in a performance appraisal system. Given that
these latter four elements can be translated to benefits if managed appropriately, it
follows that a performance management system has four more potential benefits than
does a performance appraisal system. Because a performance management system has a
greater number of potential benefits than does a performance appraisal system, a person
can criticize a performance appraisal system for offering a smaller number of potential
benefits to an organization. Similarly, one can criticize a performance appraisal system
on the basis that the system does not have a particular element that a performance
management has, given that there are a total of four elements that a performance
management system has but that a performance appraisal system does not. Either way,
this type of criticism is directed against performance appraisal systems but not against
performance management systems.

Second, note that a person can criticize the poor execution or management of an element
that is included in a performance management system but not in a performance appraisal
system. In this case, the criticism is directed against a performance management system
but not a performance appraisal system.

Third, a person can criticize the poor execution or management of an element that is
included in both a performance management system and a performance appraisal system.

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Chapter 1
Accordingly, this criticism is directed against both a performance management system
and a performance appraisal system.

Therefore, the following patterns of X’s are observed in the table below.

Criticisms Directed against Directed against both Directed against


performance performance appraisal performance
appraisal systems and management management systems
systems

1 x

2 x

3 x

4 x

5 x

6 x

7 x

8 x

9 x

10 x

11 x

(Suggested points: 8, [1.2])

Additional Cases and Worked Solutions

Case Study: CRB, Inc.

A very small car restoration business (CRB, Inc.) is interviewing you for a position as its
human resources manager on a part-time basis, working 20 hours per week, while you
complete your degree. You would be the first HR manager they have ever been able to
afford to hire, and the husband and wife owners (Al and Mary Brown) have been
operating the business for 10 years. In addition to you, they recently hired a part-time
janitor. This brought the paid staff to six full-time employees: a foreman who is
responsible for scheduling and overseeing the work, two auto body repair workers, a

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Part I: Strategic and General Considerations___________________________________________________
person who disassembles and reassembles cars, a painter, and a detail person who assists
the painter with getting the car ready to paint and sanding and waxing it afterward. Al
Brown handles sales and estimating prices, runs errands and chases down parts, and
envisions the future. Mary has been doing the bookkeeping and general paperwork. The
owners and employees are very proud of CRB’s reputation for doing high quality work in
the restoration of old cars made as far back as the 1930s.

CRB pays its employees based on “flagged hours” which are the number of paid hours
that were estimated to complete the work. (For example, the estimate may say that it will
take three hours to straighten a fender and prepare it for painting. When the auto body
repair worker has completed straightening the fender, he would “flag” completion of
three hours, whether it took him two hours or six hours to actually complete the work. It
is to his benefit to be very fast and very good at what he does.) CRB pays the workers 40
percent of what it charges the customer for the flagged hours; the other funds are used to
pay the employer’s share of the taxes and overhead, with a small margin for profit. The
foreman, who does some “flagged hours” auto body repair himself, is also paid a 5
percent commission on all the labor hours of the other employees, after the car is
accepted as complete by the customer and the customer pays for the completed work.

Employees are given feedback by Al, the foreman, and by customers on an infrequent
basis. Right now, everything is going well and the employees are working as a team. In
the past, the situation was less certain and some employees had to be fired for poor work.
When an employee filed for government paid unemployment compensation saying that
he was out of work through no fault of his own, CRB challenged the filing and usually
was able to prove that Al had given a memo to the employee requesting improvements in
quality or quantity of work. There has never been a formal planning or appraisal process
at CRB.

Mary Brown has read an article about performance management and is wondering
whether CRB should implement such a system. Please answer her questions based on
your understanding of this small business.

1. Critically assess whether a performance management system would work for such
a small business.
(Suggested points: 10, [1.1])

2. Discuss benefits that such a system would provide for us as owners and for our
employees.
(Suggested points: 5, [1.3])

3. Explain any dangers our company faces if we don’t have a performance


management system. What could be a problem if we go with a poorly
implemented system?
(Suggested points: 5, [1.4])

4. What 10 characteristics, at a minimum, should we include in a performance


management system? Explain your answer with one to three sentences for each
characteristic you recommend.

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Copyright © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall
Chapter 1

(Suggested points: 5, [1.8])

5. Explain how we could tie our current reward system to a performance


management system.
(Suggested points: 10, .5[1.5], .5[1.6])

Answers:

1. Although some descriptions of performance management might seem too


complicated for a small business, the basic principles of performance
management are important for every business. Performance management links an
individual’s (and a team’s) performance to the company’s mission and goals by
identifying what is important in an individual’s job, measuring that performance,
and developing the individual’s (and team’s) ability to provide better
performance. Even when there are only seven employees, it is important to ensure
that they are working effectively toward meeting the company’s goals. A properly
implemented performance management system should be very useful to the
company.

2. There are a number of benefits that a performance management system can


provide to the company and to you as one of the owners, including:
a. You will clarify organizational goals to your employees.
b. You and your foreman will be able to communicate your views of
employee performance more clearly.
c. There will be better, more timely identification of good and poor
performance.
d. Employee performance will improve.
e. Your administrative actions will be fair and appropriate.
f. You will have better protection from any possible lawsuits from
employees.
g. If you decide to make changes, the performance management system will
help make the changes easier to implement.
h. You might gain more insight about your employees.

In addition, the employees would reap the following benefits from the
performance management system:
a. Clarified definitions of their jobs and success criteria
b. Increased motivation to perform
c. Enhanced self-insight and development
d. Increased self-esteem
e. Improvement in pay as their performance improves

3. You may have seen some of these problems already in your company. They are
similar to the problems you can face if you have a poorly implemented system.
For you, as one of the owners, these dangers may exist:
a. You may face litigation at any time.
b. Employees may believe they are treated unfairly.
c. Employee motivation to perform may decrease.

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Copyright © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall
Part I: Strategic and General Considerations___________________________________________________
d. Employees may quit (or slow down) when they think they are not treated
fairly.
e. You may realize that either you or the foreman is putting too much effort
into getting performance out of one or more employees.

Employees may experience a lack of a performance management system (or a


badly implemented one) in this fashion:
a. They may gradually burnout and become dissatisfied with their jobs.
b. Relationships among the employees and management may become
damaged.
c. They become vulnerable to rumors and false or misleading information
about how their performance is viewed.
d. They may develop lower self-esteem.

4. There are 14 characteristics of an ideal performance management system, and


Mary Brown has requested that you identify at least 10 that would be necessary
for her company. This is a matter of judgment and detailed responses for any of
the 14 should be accepted (example responses follow):
a. Congruent with organizational strategy. It is very important that the
company identifies its goals and ensures that employee goals are aligned
with the company goals.
b. Thorough. All employees (including the foreman) should be evaluated. All
major job responsibilities should be evaluated, and the evaluations should
cover performance for the entire review period. Feedback should be given
on both positive and negative performance.
c. Practical. Because it is a very small company, the system must be easy to
use and accepted by the owners and the foreman. The benefits must
outweigh the costs of implementation.
d. Meaningful. The system must be meaningful to owners and employees,
with measurement of important and relevant standards that are within
employee control. The results should have consequences, evaluations
should occur regularly and reliably, and there should be continuing skill
development for the evaluators.
e. Specific. Employees should be given concrete and detailed guidance
regarding what is expected and how to meet the expectations.
f. Identifies effective and ineffective performance. The company needs to
distinguish between effective and ineffective behaviors and results. This
will also provide the ability to identify employees with various levels of
performance.
g. Reliable. The feedback should be consistent and free of error. Whether the
owner or the foreman is conducting the evaluation, the results should be
similar.
h. Valid. The system should be relevant (measuring what is important). The
system should not be deficient or contaminated; that is, it should not
measure unimportant facets of the job, and it should only measure what
the employee can control.
i. Acceptable and Fair. Employees should be able to perceive distributive
and procedural justice in the system. The work performed should lead

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Copyright © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall
Chapter 1
clearly to the evaluation received and to any rewards that result. They
should see that the procedures to determine the ratings and determine the
rewards are fair.
j. Inclusive. The system needs to represent the concerns of everyone
involved. Employees should be involved in developing the system,
providing input on what should be measured and how, as well as
providing input on their own performance.
k. Open. There should be frequent evaluations and feedback. The employee
should be able to feel comfortable sharing information in the evaluation
meetings. There should be clear standards and ongoing communication.
Communication should be open, factual, and honest.
l. Correctable. There needs to be a clear understanding that the system is
based on human judgment and that humans make mistakes. There needs to
be a process for appealing decisions.
m. Standardized. The system will need ongoing training of the managers to
provide consistent evaluations across people and time.
n. Ethical. The system will need to protect employee privacy. The raters will
need to suppress their own self-interest and rate only where they have
sufficient knowledge about performance.

5. Your current reward system includes both tangible returns (money and benefits)
and intangible or relational returns. The contingent pay or commission that you
pay the foreman has a direct relationship to performance; the 40 percent of labor
hours charged to the customer also relate to performance, although this could lead
to employee dissatisfaction if estimated hours are consistently inaccurate. Of
course, the employer costs for benefits, such as social security, medicare, and
unemployment insurance, are not related to performance; however, the law
requires these benefits.

You mentioned that the employees are working well as a team; this would imply
that they are getting relational returns from their work. It is important to keep them
working well together, because performance suffers when there are relational
conflicts.

You could establish an additional reward system to recognize “the employee of the
month” or something similar to recognize exceptional performance or an
employee’s additional contributions, over and above what is expected. Whether it
is a plaque on the wall or a restaurant gift certificate, it would be appreciated and
constitute relational returns and possibly tangible returns.

Case Study: Our Civil Service

A state civil service hires a wide variety of employees, ranging in pay and educational
levels from janitors and truck drivers to clerical staff at various levels and professionals
in a wide variety of fields (such as engineering, law enforcement, and social work). These
entry-level people report to supervisors, who report to program managers, who report to
division directors, who report to department directors, who report to the governor. The
department directors serve at the pleasure of the governor and are charged by the

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Part I: Strategic and General Considerations___________________________________________________
governor with strategically directing their departments to fulfill various campaign
promises. The other employees take standardized tests and are hired and promoted on a
civil service, merit-based plan.

During their first year in their positions, these employees are employed on a probationary
basis, with evaluations every 90 days. After the first year, supervisors evaluate employee
performance once a year. The appraisal process is standardized, with the supervisor
grading performance in five categories: quantity of work, quality of work, effort,
teamwork, and adherence to procedure.

Due to a constitutional requirement that government employees be paid the same as


comparable private sector employees, these civil service employees are paid at the mid-
range for similar positions in the private sector. There is a seven-step pay system.
Employees are hired at step one, and they receive a 5 percent step increase every year
until they reach step six. They remain in step six for 5 years and then are moved to step
seven as a seniority bonus. In addition, every year, if there is an increase in the cost of
living, salaries are adjusted to match the cost-of-living increase. The civil service matches
the mid-range of private sector insurance and retirement benefits. Some employees
complain that they could probably get paid better in the private sector and often leave
after a few years. Other employees care about the programs they are involved in, and
other employees are grateful for the security of a government job.

The primary purpose of the entire civil service is to administer and enforce the laws of
the state. You have been hired by the governor to examine the civil service institution and
make recommendations to improve its responsiveness to the public. You want to
recommend the implementation of a performance management system and have
requested a meeting to discuss your recommendations. You are anticipating that the
following questions will be asked, and you need to draft some good responses before the
meeting.

1. Critically assess whether the state needs a performance management system.


Discuss the purposes that such a system serves, and explain whether it would be
better than the current system. Explain the advantages of implementing a
performance management system for the employees and for our state.
(Suggested points: 10, .3[1.3], .2[1.1], .2[1.2], .3[1.7])

2. Explain any dangers of poorly implementing such a system. Evaluate the potential
effect of such a system on the human resources department.
(Suggested points: 5, .7[1.3], .3[1.10])

3. How much would something like this cost? Assess whether there might be some
cost savings from implementation of a performance management system.
(Suggested points: 10, .5[1.3], .5[1.5])

4. Evaluate whether the implementation of a performance management system


would have any impact on employee rewards, considering the constitutional
mandate that employees be paid comparably to private sector positions.
(Suggested points: 5, [1.5])

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Copyright © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall
Chapter 1

Answers:

1. A performance management system would provide a continuous process of


identifying, measuring, and developing the performance of individuals and teams and
aligning performance with the strategic goals of the organization. Although the civil
service system is designed to administer and enforce the laws of the state, as the
governor, you have goals that you have pledged to achieve for your constituents. A
performance management system would assist you in linking employee performance
to the overall goals of your administration.

You currently have an appraisal system, which assesses employee strengths and
weaknesses once a year. Employees do not have a way of improving their
performance through ongoing feedback that is linked through management directly to
the strategy of your administration.

In contrast to an appraisal system, a performance management system serves six basic


purposes: strategic, administrative, informational, developmental, organizational
maintenance, and documentation.
 You need a way to communicate your most important strategic initiatives and
link employee behavior directly to your goals.
 You need a system that can link information about employee performance to
the hard decisions that are made about salary, promotions, retention and
termination, and layoffs. In addition, you need solid information to use for
employee recognition as well as ways to identify poor performers.
 You need a consistent way to inform all the employees about your
expectations of their performance, both in terms of what is important and in
terms of how they are doing and how to improve their performance.
 Your department directors need to have tools for identifying causes of poor
performance and ways to assist employees to move forward on individual
career paths through identification of individual strengths and weaknesses,
followed by individualized feedback and coaching from their direct
supervisors.
 At a macro level, you need to be able to plan for future strategic directions of
the government, which requires an anticipation of priorities, resources, and
future workforce and training needs. You need a way to evaluate the overall
performance of your government and determine how effective your HR
department is in helping you to get where you need to go.
 Finally, you need a way to document administrative decisions and meet legal
requirements. Validation of selection instruments could help you determine
whether you are getting the most qualified workforce in this merit system.

Thus, with a performance management system, you would have a more effective tool
to help your administration meet its goals.

There would be advantages to both employees and management in implementing a


performance management system. In addition, the citizens of the state would benefit

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Part I: Strategic and General Considerations___________________________________________________
from the fact that government service would be more closely aligned to their vision of
what they would get when they elected you to administer and enforce the law. The
advantages to the employees would include:
 Clarification of their job duties and success criteria, as they align their duties
with the overall strategy of your administration
 Increased motivation to perform as they better understand how their jobs fit
with the overall scheme
 Increased self-esteem as their performance improves
 Enhanced self-insight and development as they receive feedback and coaching

The advantages to the state would come from the following advantages that
management would see:
 There would be clearer organizational goals.
 You would be better able to facilitate organizational change to meet your
strategic goals.
 Administrative actions would be fairer and more appropriate.
 There would be better, more timely identification of good and poor
performance.
 Supervisors would be able to communicate their views of performance more
clearly.
 Employee performance would improve.

2. There are dangers to the overall civil service system, managers, and employees from
a poorly implemented performance management system. For the overall system, the
dangers include:
 A waste of time and money.
 Derivation of employee performance ratings is considered a mystery.
 Biases can replace standards.
 There is an increased risk of litigation.

For managers, the dangers are:


 Employees may quit or slow down.
 Employee motivation to perform decreases.
 Standards and ratings vary and are unfair.
 Managers may find themselves spending an unjustified amount of time and
resources dealing with the system.

Employees face the following dangers:


 They are vulnerable to false or misleading information about their
performance.
 Relationships can be damaged.
 They face job burnout and dissatisfaction.
 Their self-esteem may be lowered.

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Copyright © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall
Chapter 1
Some of these dangers may already exist in your current performance appraisal
system.

A performance management system is management-directed rather than HR-directed,


although HR can be very helpful in developing the structure and training to
implement the system. The performance management system would provide
information to HR so that HR can develop training to develop your workforce for
future needs. A good performance management system would help HR to anticipate
upcoming recruitment and hiring needs; it could also assist with development of a
more effective compensation system.

3. It is possible that implementation of a good performance management system would


reduce the overall amount of time that managers spend dealing with citizen
complaints and employee grievances. In addition, if you develop a reward system that
is performance-based, there may be some budget savings. Initially, of course, there
would be a substantial investment in structuring the system and providing
management and employee training to ensure that the system is implemented
successfully.

4. A large number of private sector businesses are beginning to implement performance-


based pay systems. Because contingent pay and incentives have a strong relationship
with a performance management system, it is possible that a performance
management system could impact tangible rewards. In addition, and far easier to
implement in the civil service, it is possible to develop a number of intangible
rewards where performance can have a direct impact on relationships and work/life
focus.

Case Study: Transition from Performance Appraisal to Performance Management

You are a passionate performance management consultant. Because of your expertise in


performance management, you have been hired by the CEO of a large company to
change a performance appraisal system to a performance management system. Because
you are experienced in bringing about such transitions, you know better than anyone else
that the success of such transitions depends heavily upon top managerial understanding of
and support for the performance management system at hand. Thanks to your skills, you
have managed to educate the top management of your client’s firm and correct their
mistaken belief of equating performance appraisal with performance management.

Despite the clarified understanding of performance management, the top management


team is still a hard sell, and they remain skeptical about whether your proposed
performance management system is any different or more effective than the performance
appraisal system that the company has had in place for decades. To make matters worse,
the prevailing attitude across all levels of the organization seems to be characterized by
the commonly heard statement: “We have been doing this for a long time, and it seems to
work just fine.” Moreover, one of the managers has challenged your plan by voicing his
concern that a performance management system might create or increase the demands
(such as excessive paperwork) on managers’ and employees’ time and resources.

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Part I: Strategic and General Considerations___________________________________________________
1. Describe at least four general strategies you would take to convince the client firm
that the benefits of implementing a performance management system will far
outweigh the costs and difficulties associated with the transition from a
performance appraisal to a performance management system.
(Suggested points: 15, .6[1.9], .2[1.4], .2[1.3])

2. For each strategy listed, provide sufficient detail so that the firm can implement
your suggested strategies.
(Suggested points: 15, .6[1.9], .2[1.4], .2[1.3])

Answers:

Relevant and considerate responses should include at least some of the following
strategies in an effort to promote the acceptance of a transition from a performance
appraisal system to a performance management system.

Strategy #1: Explain some of the advantages of adopting a performance management


system. They include increased motivation to perform, facilitation of organizational
change, and increased competence of employees.

Strategy #2: Address what can be done to mitigate any identified disadvantages/dangers
of a poorly implemented performance management system. For example, one major
concern with adopting a performance management system is that it can overwhelm
managers with cognitive load, paperwork, and generally more work to do. To mitigate
this potential disadvantage, the performance management system can require that each
appraisal form be completed on or around each employee’s annual anniversary date of
hire rather than require that all appraisal forms be completed toward the end of the fiscal
year. To further mitigate the paperwork burden, the company should encourage managers
to communicate with employees regarding performance throughout the year so that
filling out appraisal forms later will be easier and more natural.

Strategy #3: Explain how a performance management system serves to further the
organization’s strategic goals and thus leave a positive impact on the bottom line.

Strategy #4: Performance management systems serve as important “feeders” to other


human resources and development activities. For example, consider the relationship
between performance management and training. Performance management provides
information on developmental needs for employees. In the absence of a good
performance management system, it is not clear that organizations will use their training
resources in the most efficient way (i.e., train those who most need it in the most critical
areas).

Strategy #5: Involve employees in the design of the system. People support what they
help create. The higher the level of participation is in designing the system, the greater
the support for the system will be.

Strategy #6: Repeat the information frequently. Because people can absorb only a small
amount of information at a time, the information must be repeated often.

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Chapter 1

Case Study: Implementing a PM System1

Some key members of an organization and an external consultant worked together to


thoroughly communicate and actually implement a new performance management
system. As one of the first steps to implement performance management, the CEO
announced that he wanted to implement a forced distribution performance management
system in which a set percentage of employees would be classified into each of several
categories (e.g., a rating of 1 to the top 20 percent of performers; a rating of 2 to the
middle 70 percent of performers; and a rating of 3 to the bottom 10 percent of
performers). A global HR team was put in place to design and implement the new
system. The first task for the design team was to build a business case of the new system
by showing that if the new organizational strategy was carried down to team goals or
objectives and team goals or objectives were translated into individual goals, then
business goals would be met. Initially, the program was rolled out as a year-round people
management system that would raise the bar on performance management at the
company by aligning individual performance objectives with organizational goals and by
focusing on the development of all employees. The desired outcomes of the new system
included raising the performance level of all employees, identifying and retaining top
talent, and identifying low performers and improving their performance. The firm also
wanted the performance expectations for all employees to be clear.

The design team received the support of senior leadership by communicating that the
performance management system was the future of the firm and by encouraging all senior
leaders to ensure that those reporting directly to them understood the process and also
accepted it. In addition, the design team encouraged senior leaders to use the system with
all of their direct subordinates and to demand and utilize output from the new system.
The team also explained the need for standardization of performance management across
all divisions. Finally, the team asked senior leaders to promote the new program by
involving employees in training of talent management and by assessing any needs in their
divisions that would not be addressed by the new system. The company’s global
performance management cycle consisted of the following process:

1. Goal cascading and team building


2. Performance planning
3. Development planning
4. Ongoing discussions and updates between managers and employees
5. Annual performance summary

Training resources were made available on the company’s intranet for managers and
individual contributors, including access to all necessary forms. In addition to the training
available on the intranet, one- to two-hour conference calls took place before each phase
of the program began.

1
This case study is based, in part, on actual information. The company’s name and other information is not
revealed due to confidentiality reasons.

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Part I: Strategic and General Considerations___________________________________________________
After the transition into the new system, part of the training associated with the
performance management system revolved around the idea that the development planning
phase of the system was the joint year-round responsibility of managers and employees.
Managers were responsible for scheduling meetings, guiding employees on preparing for
meetings, and finalizing all development plans. Individual contributors were responsible
for documenting the developmental plans. Both managers and employees were
responsible for preparing for the meeting, filling out the development planning
preparation forms, and attending the meeting.

With forced distribution systems, there were a fixed number of employees that had to fall
into each rating classification. As noted, in the company system, employees were given a
rating of 1, 2, or 3. Individual ratings were determined by the execution of annual
objectives and job requirements as well as through a comparison rating of others within a
similar level at the company. Employees receiving a 3, the lowest rating, had a specified
time period to improve their performance. If their performance improved, then they were
released from the plan, but they were not eligible for stock options or salary increases. If
performance did not improve, they could take a severance package and leave the
company, or they could start on a performance improvement plan, which had more
rigorous expectations and timelines than did the original action plan. If performance did
not improve after the second period, they were terminated without a severance package.
Individuals with a rating of 2 received average to high salary increases, stock options, and
bonuses. Individuals receiving the highest rating of 1 received the highest salary
increases, stock options, and bonuses. These individuals were also treated as “high
potential” employees and given extra development opportunities by their managers. The
company also made significant efforts to retain all individuals who received a rating of 1.

Looking to the future, the company planned to continue reinforcing the needed cultural
change to support forced distribution ratings. HR Centers of Expertise within the
company continued to educate employees about the system to ensure that they understood
that the company still rewarded good performance; they were just measuring it in a
different way than in the past. There was also a plan to monitor for and correct any
unproductive practices and implement corrective policies and practices. To do this, the
company planned on continued checks with all stakeholders to ensure that the
performance management system was serving its intended purpose.

Now that the new performance management system was implemented, the consultant
decided to evaluate the system to see if and how further implementation of the
performance management was needed. To do so, the consultant considered the following
four questions that deal with characteristics of an ideal performance management system
discussed in the chapter. Put yourself in the shoes of the consultant, and provide answers
to these four questions:

1. What is your overall impression on the degree of overlap between the company’s
system and the ideal system performance management system?
(Suggested points: 5, [1.8])

2. What are the specific features of the system implemented at the company that
correspond to what was described in the chapter as ideal characteristics? Which of

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Copyright © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall
Chapter 1
the ideal characteristics are missing? For which of the ideal characteristics do we
need additional information to evaluate whether they are part of the system at the
company?
(Suggested points: 5, [1.8])

3. Based on the description of the system at the company, what do you anticipate
will be some advantages and positive outcomes resulting from the implementation
of the system?
(Suggested points: 7, .3[1.8], .7[1.3])

4. What do you anticipate will be some disadvantages and negative outcomes


resulting from the implementation of the system?
(Suggested points: 7, .3[1.8], .7[1.4])

Answers:

1. Overall, the performance management system at the company fits the


characteristics of an ideal system nicely.

2. It has strategic congruence; it encourages a thorough and continuous evaluation


process; the results will be used to make important decisions; expectations of
employees are clearly communicated; the plan discriminates among high,
average, and low performers; employee input is gathered before the meeting; and
it encourages ongoing communication between manager and employee. However,
there is not enough information presented to know if the standards that employees
are rated on are relevant and under the employee’s control and if there is an
appeals process in place. Furthermore, reliability and validity information of the
system will need to be assessed. Finally, data will be needed (possibly collected
by the HR function) to assess whether employees see the system as fair, whether
it is being used ethically, and whether the benefits of the system outweigh its
costs.

3. Advantages/positive outcomes of successfully implementing this system include:


a. Raising the bar of performance and aggressively managing performance
b. Cascading organizational goals to individual employees, setting objectives
to meet these goals, and planning development activities to ensure that
objectives are met
c. Ability to track talent profile and compare it to business performance
d. Enhanced communication centered on employee development
e. Improved employee satisfaction and loyalty
f. Increased opportunities for innovation and technology breakthroughs
g. Increased trust between managers and employees
h. Increased collaboration

4. Disadvantages of implementing this system include:


a. Poor performers may be retained to meet the 10 percent quota
b. Increased risk of discrimination litigation
c. Hiring mediocre talent to satisfy the bottom 10 percent quota

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Part I: Strategic and General Considerations___________________________________________________
d. Promoting internal competition, undermining team collaboration
e. May drive unethical behavior, as employees do whatever it takes to
compete
f. Everyone takes a turn being a “token 3”
g. The forced distribution may not reflect actual performance, and there may
be penalization of (a) good performers in high performing teams and (b)
good managers who hire well and manage all performers actively

Case Study: PM Beyond Large Businesses

The table here summarizes the key characteristics of an ideal performance management
system as discussed in Chapter 1. Think about three performance management systems
you know—one in a large business, another in a small business (500 or less employees),
and the last one in a governmental agency. One of such performance management
systems could be the one implemented at your current (or most recent) job. If you don’t
have information about such a system, talk to a friend or acquaintance who is currently
working and gather information about the system used in his or her organization.

1. Use the Y/N column in the table to indicate whether each of the features is present
(Y: yes) or not (N: no) in the system you are considering. In some cases, some
elements may be present to a degree and may require that you include some
additional information in the Comments column.
(Suggested points: 9, .2[1.1], .2[1.2], .6[1.8])

2. Next, briefly discuss the similarities and dissimilarities observed among the three
performance management systems implemented in the three different contexts.
(Suggested points: 12, .2[1.7], .4[1.8], .2[1.10], .2[1.11])

Characteristics Y/N Definition Comments


Strategic congruence Individual goals are aligned with unit and
organizational goals.
The system is congruent with norms based on
the organization’s culture.
Contextual congruence The system is congruent with norms based on
the culture of the region and country where the
organization is located.
All employees are evaluated.
Evaluations include performance spanning the
entire review period.
Thoroughness
All major job responsibilities are evaluated.
Feedback is provided on both positive and
negative performance.
It is readily available for use.
It is easy to use.
Practicality It is acceptable to those who use it for
decisions.
Benefits of the system outweigh the costs.

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Chapter 1

Standards and evaluations for each job


function are important and relevant.
Only the functions that are under the control of
the employee are measured.
Evaluations take place at regular intervals and
at appropriate moments.
System provides for continuing skill
Meaningfulness
development of evaluators.
Results are used for important administrative
decisions.
Detailed guidance is provided to employees
Specificity about what is expected of them and how they
can meet these expectations.
The system distinguishes between effective
Identification of
and ineffective behaviors and results, thereby
effective and ineffective
also identifying employees displaying various
performance
levels of performance effectiveness.
Measures of performance are consistent.
Reliability
Measures of performance are free of error.
Measures include all critical performance
facets.
Measures do not leave out any important
Validity
performance facets.
Measures do not include factors outside
employee control.
Employees perceive the performance
evaluation and rewards received relative to the
work performed as fair (distributive justice).
Employees perceive the procedures used to
determine the ratings and subsequent rewards
as fair (procedural justice).
Acceptability and
Employees perceive the way they are treated
fairness
in the course of designing and implementing
the system as fair (interpersonal justice).
Employees perceive the information and
explanations they receive as part of the
performance management system as fair
(informational justice).
Employees’ input about their performance is
gathered from the employees before the
appraisal meeting.
Inclusiveness
Employees participate in the process of
creating the system by providing input on how
performance should be measured.
Performance is evaluated frequently and
Openness feedback is provided on an ongoing basis.
Appraisal meeting is a two-way

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Part I: Strategic and General Considerations___________________________________________________

communication process and not one-way


communication delivered from the supervisor
to the employee.
Standards are clear and communicated on an
ongoing basis.
Communications are factual, open, and honest.
There is an appeals process through which
Correctability employees can challenge any unjust or
incorrect decisions.
Performance is evaluated consistently across
Standardization
people and time.
Supervisors suppress their personal self-
interest in providing evaluations.
Supervisors evaluate performance dimensions
Ethicality
only for which they have sufficient
information.
Employee privacy is respected.

Answers:

Answers should be judged based on the insightfulness of the comments. Good answers
will demonstrate a clear understanding of each of the components of an ideal
performance management system, and each comment should be relevant to the specific
characteristic under which the comment is included. The key here is to understand the
importance of each of the characteristics and how they may or may not have directly or
indirectly affected the individual, group, or organization.

26
Copyright © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall
Another random document with
no related content on Scribd:
(An Ode.)

The die is cast,


Whether for good or ill,
Let no regrets our anxious bosom fill;
The Rubicon is passed,
Nailed are our colors to the mast,
A truce to doubting or unmanly fear;
For home for country now
Are pledged the solemn vow,
Our fortunes, honor, life, and all that we hold
dear!
Thus to his loved one did each hero say,
When home returned at eve of this immortal
day.

And she replied:


Well, since it must be so,
With you we sympathize in weal or woe,
Assert your country’s cause with noble pride;
Arm, arm, advance and boldly meet the foe!
Your country calls! you must obey her voice!
A recreant he who shrinks from such a call;
Since she enshrines our homes, our loves, our
all;
Next after God, our country is our choice;
And Heaven forbid, it ever should be said,
That we, Columbia’s matrons, felt dismayed!

And let not love


Of wife or children you from duty keep;
What, though your absence lonely here we
weep;
Th’ all-seeing eye will guard us from above;
And while the battle rages o’er the plain,
Our prayers for you shall not ascend in vain;
Or, should you fall untimely in the strife,
Heaven will befriend your orphans and your
wife!

Beloved, one dear embrace,


And then a long, perhaps a last, farewell,
Should Heaven so will, my heart shall not rebel,
But still, this day with pride I shall retrace;
My country born to freedom and to joy;
Oh! bliss supreme,
This were a theme,
The harps of mighty seraphs to employ!
The world shall hail this truth proclaimed by
thee:
Man is by nature, and he shall be, free.

Wake, wake the lyre,


Sound drum and trumpet, let the cannons roar
Proclaim the jubilee from shore to shore;
Go, join yon phalanx like a wall of fire
Impervious around young Freedom thrown,
And let each hero mark her for his own!
Thus spake each noble matron as she gazed,
Undaunted, where no mimic war-fires blazed.

The aim of government and laws


Is to defend true freedom’s cause;
The strong man’s injustice detect
And punish, and the weak protect;
The innocent to vindicate
By every power within the State;
Of evil to arrest the flood,
And use their influence for good;
If in these noble aims they fail,
And by majorities assail
The life or liberty of man
’Tis time to spurn the odious plan;
And any system to befriend,
Which may secure the wished-for end.

On every hand this cry we hear


“We purchase justice far too dear,”
To all its sons th’ indulgent State
Should grant this arbiter of fate,
Free as the air that we inhale;
Fresh as from ocean springs the gale;
Prompt as the light of summer’s dawn,
Sweet as the hay-swath on the lawn;
Not tainted with corruption’s breath,
Breathed from the charnel house of death;
And, as the people wield the power,
Why not reform this very hour?

So long as magistrates can fleece,


Crime and its causes must increase;
So long as jurors hands shall itch,
And gold stick to them fast as pitch;
So long as officers are paid
Just as they ply their venal trade;
So long as vile contractors fill
Their coffers from the public till,
And go unhanged, while soldiers starve
Or sink exhausted to the grave;
So long as venal lawyers plead
Not led by right, but urged by need,
And be, like cattle, bought and sold,
And barter Heaven itself for gold;
So long as judges shall be found
Who on the strength of party ground
Their judgments, and the cause decide
To suit self-interest or pride;—
So long, by mind’s unerring laws,
Effects will flow as bids the cause;
And when the bantling is adult,
A monstrous evil must result
Which soon will swallow freedom down;
Vice brooks no rival near its throne,
But proudly wields its scepter dread,
And rules supreme, a copperhead!

What use is freedom’s written scroll,


Unless ’tis graven on the soul?
Why vainly celebrate its birth,
If it has fled to Heaven from earth,
To aggravate our pain and cross,
By pointing out its grievous loss?
Astræa nought to me avails,
If but her phantom hold the scales;
Who, with her finger in my fob,
Like saint bedeckt, like strumpet rob,
And smiling say: “Peace, friend, be still,
This is the law—the people’s will.”

If slavery’s shadow in the North


Hath such results as these brought forth;
Then what must be the moral state,
Of those who feel its full grown weight?
Or of a land whose priests profane
God’s word and his most holy fane;
By preaching slavery until
The mass believe it is no ill;
And four of every six incline
To hail the monster half divine?
Ask each of these, and he replies:
“In slavery true freedom lies:”
Ask where is freedom’s proper sphere?
He points to Dixie; “Lo, tis there!”
Thus have they masked hypocrisy,
And dubbed her “young Democracy!”

Democracy’s vile sham and stain,


You don fair Freedom’s mask in vain!
You cannot pass in that disguise,
Nor thus elude our Argus-eyes.
Your boasted Christian brotherhood
Is one of violence and blood;
Your star of freedom pales its rays,
Becomes a farthing rush-light’s blaze,
And shows your “chivalry” as shams
Peddling their bogus nuts and hams;
And the vile rag you have unfurled,
The jest and scorn of all the world!

Nor is your mission one to bless


The weak and humble, but oppress;
Uphold the robber, thief, and knave,
And make the innocent your slave.
Nor do you foster hope and light,
But shroud your evil deeds in night;
Proscribe all learning, genius, taste,
And make your realm a howling waste:
And on this rock your church is built,
A corner-stone of vice and guilt;
And this you purpose to defend
Against all comers, foe or friend:
Entrenched behind this monstrous wrong,
You swear to rule, since you are strong,
You boast your dupes God’s chosen host
To scourge a world in “darkness lost,”
“Fanatics” who refuse to see
The glory of your “liberty!”
Thus you the God of hosts blaspheme,
As aider of your monstrous scheme;
Implore him to blot out his sun,
By victories through treason won;
This land with anarchy to flood,
And drown all kindred ties in blood;
Nay this great Union to destroy,
That you your bauble may enjoy!
Like some poor maniac raging wild,
Or some indulged and petted child,
Who for a rattle or a straw,
Some gilded trifle or gewgaw,
Screams madly with his ebbing breath,
You grasp your idols,—strong in death!
Enough! your purpose we perceive,
And spurn your doctrines! while we grieve
For our dear land’s supreme disgrace,
Defiled and tortured by your race;
Though brief and turbid be your day,
Your odious name will bring dismay,
Forever, to each generous heart
That with humanity takes part:
Henceforth, vile monster, live or dead!
We dub you viper, copperhead.
The copperhead! Has he a soul?
And does it seek yon starry pole,
When death relieves it from the clay,
And wing on high its airy way?
I question if a thing so vile
Can live beyond the present style,
Or if it should, where could it go,
To find its full repast of woe?
What think you, then, of transmigration,
Or interchange of place and station?
Perhaps the nigger-whippers pass
To shades still darker than of brass,
And copperheads, as seemeth proper,
Put on more sombre hues than copper;
And find new quarters made to fit,
In negro tenements, to-wit;
And thus become, in very fact,
The things that they so much have cracked;
And hear their master, late their slave,
With furious tone and gesture rave;
And feel the lash he plies so well,
And howl in this congenial hell!

Transcendant life! immortal part!


I long to know what thing thou art;
Whether a phantom light as air,
Or form symmetrical and fair;
An essence which can never die;
Or something passing as a sigh,
Which, when this frame dissolves in dust,
Returns to nothing, as at first;
Or whether thou hast always been
The same, through every changing scene,
And why to some thou art so sweet;
To others with such woes replete?

It cannot be this conscious being


Is all absorbed in feeling, seeing;
That those desires we cannot sate
Are doomed to end in this low state,
Unsatisfied; and that the powers
We feel within us and as ours,
Should, at our death, be swept away
Like shadows by the morning’s ray;
Nor can it be, that sin and crime
Can go unwhipt, if not in time.
No, we shall bask for evermore
In light, and light’s great source adore,
With those who love the right shall shine,
In union, peace and love divine;
Whilst copperheads and all their host
In hell’s tempestuous surge are tossed,
And wail forever “Lost, lost, lost!”

Oh! for a moment on hell’s brink,


To view the tortured reptiles sink,
Ten million fathoms in th’ abyss,
And thence rebound with bubbling hiss;
Their throats with sulph’rous vapor choked,
Their slimy length begrimed and smoked;
Each hideous skin as if ’twould burst,
By belching out the draught accurst;
All tortured and convulsed with rage,
To whom each moment seems an age—
Who vainly call “emancipation,”
To free them from that deep damnation,
Or else for swift annihilation!
Then might we realize the sting
That wrongs to men on spirits bring;
Then would we fully comprehend,
That God is justice and its friend!

Oh miracle! scarce had my prayer


Been breathed upon the vacant air,
When lo! a vision, or a dream,
As clear as pebbles in a stream,
Appeared before my wondering eyes
And filled my soul with deep surprise;
I’ll paint the scene the best I can,
’Twas thus the strange illusion ran:
A DREAM OF EREBUS.

Night’s shadows closed round me, I lay on my


bed,
And visions of beauty encompassed my head;
The sweetest of melodies floated around,
The Muses and Graces kept time to the sound:
The scene was enchanting; but brief was its
stay,
In mists and in clouds it soon melted away:
Then darkness succeeded, the horrors of death!
I struggled as one who was fighting for breath!
Till, in fancy, I passed through the last mortal
throe,
And my spirit sought rest in the regions below.
My passport delayed me a while, but, at last,
Through the wide-yawning portals of Pluto I
passed;
Then, warned by a goblin I met on the way,
My respects to the grim king of Hades I pay:
I advance to his throne, and, without falling
prostrate,
I pay my devoirs to the great arch-apostate.
He rose up and told me to follow his wake,
And a walk through his kingdom, for pleasure,
we’d take.
“I’ll show you,” said he, “how my quarters are
crammed,
In their various regions, with ghosts of the
damned.”
“I præ, sequar,” said I, “go ahead and I’ll follow;”
So he led me along, through a mighty big
hollow;
On my right hand I saw what appeared to my
sight
An iron-walled palace of towering height:
I scanned it with wonder, but as I drew nigher
I perceived that it was a huge furnace of fire:
Its apartments above, and its basement below
Were crowded with beings the image of woe;
“What is this?” was my query; the Devil replied,
“’Tis the place where my slave-holding children
are fried;
As they said when on earth, that a white man
must be
Above the vile nigger, it is so as you see:
The whites are above, and the niggers below,
The brimstone to stir and the bellows to blow;
But let us go on—you will see as you pass,
The punishment dire of a much meaner class;
That pit on the left is the dismal abode
Of a tribe who by thousands descend the broad
road;
These are base hireling watchmen, who strove
to increase
The size of the flock for the sake of the fleece,
No care had above for the souls of their charge,
But slept like dumb dogs while the wolf prowled
at large.
There are priests of all classes, all creeds and
all names
Condemned to be scorched in the sulphurous
flames.
But the meanest by far of these groveling
creatures
Are those factors of hell, the pro-slavery
preachers,
Who insist that the Lord made the nigger’s skin
black,
That the white man to Heaven might ride on his
back;
They quote still from Scripture, and make it so
plain,
To deny it were taking the Lord’s name in vain;
Disputing the fact were mere breath thrown
away,
For is it not written, “Ye servants, obey?”
They drawl a long prayer, and a sermon comes
next,
And “Cursed be Canaan,” they take for their
text;
But here a new light on their vision has burst,
And they feel that themselves, not poor Canaan,
are cursed.
Just a few steps ahead I will show you their
station,
Close packed with those wretches who’d ruin
your Nation.”
And soon, as we stood o’er a precipice dire,
I saw far beneath me the great Lake of Fire;
Like the sea in a tempest its surface was tossed,
While it swarmed with the pale, burning ghosts
of the lost.
Rock-bounded on all sides, the deep, hollow
roar
Of its surges resounded while lashing the shore,
The blackness of darkness—a sulphurous
cloud,
Hung over the scene like a funeral shroud.
Yet plain by the glare of the red waves at play,
As they lashed the grim crags that flung back
the hot spray,
Each wave in succession displayed on its crest
Some thousand pale ghosts who were riding
abreast;
Till striking the crag they sank down from my
sight,
And others rushed in, like to men in a fight;
Oh! wild were the shrieks and the wails that
arose
From those as they sank, and from these as
they rose;
So piercing and heart-rending was the sad
strain,
That it thrilled me with horror—transfixed me
with pain!
These words they ground out midst their dire
suffocation:
“Oh God! from this hell grant us—emancipation,
Or else, in thy mercy, give annihilation!”
But hell bellowed back, “everlasting damnation!”

But, most frightful of all!—tiger-like and


inhuman,
I hear the fierce howls of three men and one
woman,
Whose necks, hung in halters right over the
flood,
Are stretched by a wretch all bedabbled with
blood!
All five call on “Lincoln” for mercy; when lo!
They are plunged, in a twinkling, to regions
below;
Where long in the torrent they struggling remain,
Till the wave spews them up to its surface again;
There howling and writhing, unable to die,
Each visage distorted and bloodshot each eye,
For mercy in vain the assassins still cry!
Ah, Mercy they’ve slain!—Hope for them has no
room,
Hell’s no longer a myth,—’tis the parricide’s
doom!

The Devil here chuckled with joy and delight,


And seemed to be charmed with this horrible
sight:
“This,” said he, “is the place where I
demagogues throw
When they come here and ask for their lodgings
below,
Since they never loved aught but loud brawling
and strife,
And were true to no party or friend during life;
Ever turning and twisting, and dodging around,
No place more befitting for them could be found;
For here they’ll be tossing and dodging forever
Like drift-wood afloat on a rock-tortured river.

Here, too, let me point to you those wretched


men
Who devote all their powers, both of tongue and
of pen,
To prop the slave-holders, their code propagate,
Turn earth into hell through disunion and hate,
And to fan the fierce flames of your war have
combined,
And, therefore, most justly have they been
consigned
With the meanest of devils who dared to rebel,
To be scorched in the flames of the nethermost
hell.
Here are lying reporters and editors, speakers,
And the old Union-savers and compromise
shriekers,
With blood-sucking leeches and shoddy
contractors,
Beneath loyal masks, much the worst
malefactors,
Who smile, while your soldiers they starve and
they rob,
More guilty, by far, than Buchanan or Cobb.

But a new class of sinners came not long ago,


And what to do with them I swear I don’t know;
I saw them, quite recently, stemming the Styx,
Sent here, I suppose, for their dastardly tricks:
(For of all who arrive here by night or by day,
There are none but the meanest who come by
that way,)
Each floated down stream, at his ease, toward
the lake,
A species of monster, half man and half snake;
Their heads crowned with copper, their bodies
with scales,
Like scorpions they carried their stings in their
tails;
And scarce had their feet touched the marl of
our soil,
When hell, by their tricks, was thrown into a
broil:
And now I am puzzled to know what to do
With this low-lived, this white-livered,
copperhead crew.
It is true I would see the whole world come to
hell,
I am fond of mean men, but these please me too
well:
In their zeal for my cause and the good of this
place,
They have brought my whole kingdom and
cause to disgrace.
Though loyal to me and vile slaves to my throne,
While accepting their service, the tools I disown.
Since they serve without pay or a hope of
reward,
I am bound by no bargain to show them regard:
I think I’ll just take them outside of the town,
Where the drainage, the filth and the offal are
thrown,
And toss the whole pack of them into the ditch,
Then cover them over with sulphur and pitch;
Set fire to the mixture and leave them to cook,
To writhe in the flames, or to strangle with
smoke;
And then I will drive them to earth back again,
To shiver in ice, howl in wind, hail and rain.

When Jefferson Davis and his rebel host


Shall arrive, by and by, at the gates of the lost,
I’ll meet, and assign them a place near my
throne,
And Davis and Floyd shall be stars in my crown;
But this wretched crew to the ditch I’ll consign,
For, though true to my cause, I cannot call them
mine.”

Just then came a messenger hastily down,


And called out, “Your Majesty’s wanted up town;
For another large batch of the peace-shrieking
crew
Have come sneaking down here and are asking
for you.”

His Majesty then grew quite black in the face;


“I’ll go and, by hell, kick them out of the place:
Their stench I detest, I cannot bear them near,
And I’ll soon let them know that they mustn’t
stay here;
’Tis too much e’en for us, with our devilish
natures,
To bear with such fallen, such cowardly,
creatures.”

So saying, and wearing a terrible frown,


He seized a huge trident and hurried up town;
Then quickly I heard mingled whining and
shrieking,
And, in thunder and wrath, old Beelzebub
speaking:
“Get out of my court, you vile, dastardly crew,
You’re too mean to stay here where the common
damned do.”
And then, like a man of his reason bereft,
He wielded his club and pitched in right and left.

They yelled, and shrieked “Peace, oh, pray,


Satan, hold on,
We are loyal to you!”—cried Satan, “Begone!”
While the blows he dealt out made the peace-
sneaks to scream;—
With their yells in my ears, I awoke from my
dream!

My task is done, my work is ended;


Behold the Copperhead suspended
’Twixt Heaven and earth, in open air,
His whole anatomy laid bare;
Normal and morbid all made known,
In soul and body, nerve and bone!
Since Satan would not let him stay
In realms which shun the light of day;
(Where he in torture would abide,
If he his deep disgrace could hide,)
Here pilloried in sight of men,
Impaled on my steel-pointed pen,
Like Tantalus tormented ever,
Let vultures prey upon his liver,
Which, by some retributive power,
Still grows as fast as they devour,
Till passers-by shall point with scorn,
And cry, “’Twere better not be born,
Than thus to writhe in infamy,
As long as sun and stars shall be!”

And when, in some far future age,


The student of creation’s page
Shall dig his fossils from the ground,
And stand amazed, in doubt profound,
As to what species and what race
The monstrous reptile he can trace,
And wonder, with suspended breath,
His use or purpose on the earth;
These records all his doubts shall clear,
When he beholds him pictured here,
So fully, that who runs will read,
Then shudder, and increase his speed!
Thus much for science having won,
I take my leave, my task is done.

THE END.

Transcriber’s Note: It is not known what these letters/numbers were intended to


represent. There are no footnotes in this or multiple other copies of the book.

“SIR COPP:”
A Book for the Times, in Six Cantos. By Thomas Clarke, Author of
“A Day in May,” “Donna Rosa,” “The Silent Village,” “Life in the
West,” &c., &c.
OPINIONS OF THE PRESS.
From the Chicago Tribune
In this work we welcome another home production. It is written in
Hudibrastic verse; but the genius of the author is by no means
confined to this form of composition. The object of the author is
praise-worthy, and he exhibits much talent for versification. We must,
injustice, commend the work for many striking and some admirable
passages. “Sir Copp,” is of course, Sir Copperhead; and the
venomous creature is dissected by an artist who has a true scientific
enthusiasm for so fine a specimen of morbid anatomy. The
invocation to the muse is especially striking, (here it is quoted in full.)
Mr. Clarke is not an untried poet. He has, in fact, produced a number
of poems, for which the best English critics have accorded to him a
high rank amongst the first poets of our day.
From the Chicago Evening Journal
Under the title of “Sir Copp,” is depicted the character of a
copperhead, whose career closes at the gates of hell. The story is a
contrast of patriotism with disloyalty; the theme growing out of the
late rebellion. The poetry is lively in measure. The author’s former
works drew down the encomiums of several good authorities in
literary matters. The volume is highly creditable to the publishers.
From the Chicago Republican.
Mr. Clarke is favorably known to the reading public as the author
of several poems published in England, which have received warm
praise from the leading English reviews. The purpose of this effort of
his muse is to contrast a dark phase of human depravity, as
exhibited by the copperhead rebels of the northern states, with the
beauty and power of loyalty to God and country. Incidentally, he
satirises Tennyson, mourns over the grave of Lincoln, and celebrates
the heroes of Murfreesboro, and many another bloody field. He
writes with a sharp pen, and shows no mercy to the traitors. “Sir
Copp,” having undergone a severe moral and physical dissection, is
introduced by the author into hell, whence Satan, unwilling to
entertain him, sends him back to earth to be punished according to
his deserts.
From the Staats Zeitung (German.)
Mr. Thomas Clarke, a celebrated British Poet, who lives here in
the West, has produced a poem under the title of “Sir Copp,” in
which he shows forth the copperheads and their actions during the
war. He is amongst the warmest friends of America, extols liberty
and patriotism, and does ample justice to our German American
citizens.

New Work, by the Author of “Sir Copp,”


(WILL BE READY IN THE SPRING, ’67,)
ENTITLED

THE TWO ANGELS


Or, LOVE-LED.
A POEM, IN SIX CANTOS.
The story is of Heaven and earth, and is one of the deepest
interest. It is a book of great merit, and no doubt will be extensively
read.
The volume will contain upwards of two hundred pages small
octavo, printed with clear, readable type, on fine paper, and will be
neatly bound.
GEO. W. CLARKE, Publisher,
215 ILLINOIS ST., CHICAGO.
*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SIR COPP: A
POEM FOR THE TIMES, IN SIX CANTOS ***

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