Read the following passage and answer the questions : The Chairman astonished HR leaders by announcing the company’s discontinuation of annual reviews, substituting them with immediate feedback, goal-oriented coaching and weekly incentives. This transformation, once considered heretical, has gained widespread acceptance: around one-third of U.S. companies, including Adobe, Deloitte, GE, Microsoft and PwC, have transitioned from inflexible annual evaluations to regular, informal assessments. Conventional performance evaluations, previously effective for determining compensation and recognizing talent, have evolved into expensive, bureaucratic processes that are unpopular among both employees and managers. Critics contend that they prioritize historical conduct over prospective development, hinder collaboration and do not fulfill commercial requirements. Originating from the military’s merit rating system, performance appraisals have transitioned between accountability and development, influenced by variables including inflation, compulsory ranking at GE, executive compensation reforms and the competitive pursuit of talent. Currently, low inflation, streamlined organizational structures, agile work methodologies and the necessity for ongoing innovation have made annual reviews redundant. Organizations are currently emphasizing agility, collaboration, and personnel development, concentrating on continuous dialogue and immediate objective. Despite ongoing challenges-such as bias, salary discrepancies and inadequate supervisor training-organizations that implement continuous feedback mechanisms experience enhanced satisfaction, superior coaching and greater alignment with corporate objectives. The transition signifies a necessity: performance management must adapt to cultivate future talent.
Critics argue that conventional performance evaluations :
Prioritize historical conduct over development, hinder-collaboration and fail to meet business needs
Option 3 — the three charges the passage attributes to critics.
The sentence. “Critics contend that they prioritize historical conduct over prospective development, hinder collaboration and do not fulfill commercial requirements.” Option 3 reproduces all three; options 1 and 2 state two of the three in reverse.
| Criticism in the passage | Reversed in |
|---|---|
| Prioritises historical conduct over prospective development | Option 1 — “future-oriented growth” |
| Hinders collaboration | Option 1 — “encourage collaboration” |
| Does not fulfil commercial requirements | Option 2 — “fulfil commercial requirements effectively” |
The technique the question uses. Two distractors are the exact negation of the passage. This is the commonest form of comprehension trap, and it is defeated by locating the sentence and checking the polarity of each clause — a reader who half-remembers the topic will accept a plausible-sounding positive statement.
Why the criticisms are substantively fair.
| Charge | The underlying problem |
|---|---|
| Backward-looking | The appraisal rates what has already happened. Employees defend the past instead of discussing what to do next, and the conversation becomes a negotiation over a rating rather than a plan for development |
| Hinders collaboration | Where employees are rated individually — and worse, ranked against one another — helping a colleague lowers one’s own relative standing. Forced distribution makes this explicit and turns colleagues into rivals |
| Fails commercial needs | A once-a-year cycle cannot keep pace with objectives that change quarterly, and the administrative cost is very large relative to what it produces |
Note option 4. “Transparent ranking” sounds like a virtue, but the passage treats compulsory ranking at GE as one of the forces that shaped — and burdened — the appraisal system, not as a motivator.
Hence, the answer is option 3.
Similar Questions
Match List - I with List - II.
List - I
(Concept)List - II
(Description)A. Origin of performance appraisals I. Compulsory ranking at GE B. Bureaucratic evolution II. Military’s merit rating system C. Factors influencing appraisal changes III. Expensive and unpopular processes D. Current organizational focus IV. Agility, collaboration and continuous dialogue Choose the correct answer from the options given below :
When the supervisor keeps a log of positive and negative examples of a subordinate’s work-related behaviour, it refers to which one of the following methods of performance appraisal ?
Following steps are undertaken for developing a workforce score card.
(a) Identify critical and carefully defined outcome measures.
(b) Translate the measures into specific actions and outcomes.
(c) Identify high and low performing employees.
(d) Develop and communicate detailed description of what is expected.
(e) Develop supporting HRM and measurement systems.
What is the correct chronological order of these steps ?
Which one of the following methods of performance appraisal involves ranking employees from best to worst in a particular trait?
Arrange the steps of diagnostic model of human resource management in the correct sequence from the first to the last. Select the code of correct sequence:
a. Evaluate
b. Prescribe
c. Diagnose
d. Implement
Codes:
Which one of the following is a training technique in which trainees act out parts in a realistic management situation?
Read the following passage and answer the questions :
The Chairman astonished HR leaders by announcing the company’s discontinuation of annual reviews, substituting them with immediate feedback, goal-oriented coaching and weekly incentives. This transformation, once considered heretical, has gained widespread acceptance: around one-third of U.S. companies, including Adobe, Deloitte, GE, Microsoft and PwC, have transitioned from inflexible annual evaluations to regular, informal assessments. Conventional performance evaluations, previously effective for determining compensation and recognizing talent, have evolved into expensive, bureaucratic processes that are unpopular among both employees and managers. Critics contend that they prioritize historical conduct over prospective development, hinder collaboration and do not fulfill commercial requirements. Originating from the military’s merit rating system, performance appraisals have transitioned between accountability and development, influenced by variables including inflation, compulsory ranking at GE, executive compensation reforms and the competitive pursuit of talent. Currently, low inflation, streamlined organizational structures, agile work methodologies and the necessity for ongoing innovation have made annual reviews redundant. Organizations are currently emphasizing agility, collaboration, and personnel development, concentrating on continuous dialogue and immediate objective. Despite ongoing challenges-such as bias, salary discrepancies and inadequate supervisor training-organizations that implement continuous feedback mechanisms experience enhanced satisfaction, superior coaching and greater alignment with corporate objectives. The transition signifies a necessity: performance management must adapt to cultivate future talent.
__________ is a profile of job holders department-wise and offers a snapshot of who will replace if there is a job opening.
Under which method of performance appraisal many evaluators join together to judge employee’s performance in several situations with the use of a variety of criteria ?
Following steps are undertaken for developing a workforce score card:
(a) Identify critical and carefully defined outcome measures.
(b) Translate the measures into specific actions and outcomes.
(c) Identify high and low performing employees.
(d) Develop and communicate detailed description of what is expected.
(e) Develop supporting HRM and measurement systems.
What is the correct chronological order of these steps?
Important Questions from Concept, role and functions of HRM
Male staff should take which of the following precautions?
Arrange the following management functions in a logical sequence of getting things done.
A. Planning
B. Staffing
C. Organizing
D. Coordinating
E. Controlling
F. Directing
Choose the correct answer from the options given below:
Match List - I with List - II:
List - I (Concept) List - II (Description) A. Personnel management I. Focuses on profit maximization by contribution of the people B. Human Resource management II. Managing employee, employer relations amicably C. Industrial relation III. Managing Human resource challenges of international operations D. International HRM IV. Developing attitude of the people for their better contribution Choose the correct answer from the options given below :
Match List - I with List - II.
List - I
(Concept)List - II
(Description)A. Origin of performance appraisals I. Compulsory ranking at GE B. Bureaucratic evolution II. Military’s merit rating system C. Factors influencing appraisal changes III. Expensive and unpopular processes D. Current organizational focus IV. Agility, collaboration and continuous dialogue Choose the correct answer from the options given below :
- Match the items of List-I with those of List-II with regard to operative functions of HRM and indicate the code of correct matching.Codes :
List – I List – II a. Procurement i. Performance appraisal b. Development ii. Discipline c. Integration iii. Induction d. Maintenance iv. Personnel research
