Every Friday, Max Steadman, Jim Cobun, Lynne Sims, and Tom Hamilton meet at Charley's Food Place after work for refreshments. The four friends work as managers at Eckel Industries, a manufacturer of arc welding equipment in Minneapolis. The one-plant company employs about 2,000 people. The four managers work in the manufacturing division.
Max, 35, manages the company's 25 quality control inspectors. Lynne, 33, works as a supervisor in inventory management. Jim, 34, is a first-line supervisor in the metal coating department. Tom, 28, supervises a team of assemblers. The four managers' tenures at Eckel Industries range from one year (Tom) to 12 years (Max).
The group is close-knit: Lynne, Jim, and Max's friendship stems from their years as undergraduate business students at the University of Minnesota. Tom, the newcomer, joined the group after meeting the three at an Eckel management seminar last year. Weekly get-togethers at Charley's have become a comfortable habit for the group and provide an opportunity to relax, exchange the latest gossip heard around the plant, and give and receive advice about problems encountered on the job.
This week's topic of discussion: performance appraisal, specifically the company's annual review process, which the plant's management conducted in the last week. Each of the four managers completed evaluation forms (graphic rating scale format) on each of his or her subordinates and met with each subordinate to discuss the appraisal.

Questions

1. In your opinion, and from an HRM perspective, what are the objectives of employee performance evaluation?
2. On the basis of these objectives, evaluate the perspectives about performance appraisal presented by the managers.
3. Assume you are the vice president of HRM at Eckel Industries and that you are aware that fine-tuning evaluations is a prevalent practice among Eckel managers. If you disagree with this perspective, what steps would you take to reduce the practice?