360-Degree Feedback Essay

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360-Degree Feedback What is 360-degree feedback? According to Peter Ward, who coined the phrase in the early 90’s, it is ‘the systematic collection and feedback of performance data on an individual or group derived from a number of the stakeholders in their performance’ (Ward, 1997, p. 4). In simpler terms, 360-degree feedback is a method of evaluation that utilizes feedback from the employee, their peers, managers, subordinates and customers. Its purpose is to provide confidential reviews so the worker gets an unbiased view of their job performance, and help in creating an employee developmental plan. Some of the things a 360 feedback measures is behaviors, competencies, and the perception of those around the employee. It also helps address soft skills such as listening, planning and goal setting as well as areas such as teamwork and effectiveness as a leader. 360 feedbacks do not measure employees performance objectives, and are not focused on technical or job-specific skills, and are not used to measure things such as attendance and sales quotas (What is 360 Degree Feedback?). Some advantages of a 360-degree feedback is the decreased possibility of biases, increased awareness of performance expectations, improved performance and increased career control for the employee (Aguinis, 2013, p. 219). Because it is anonymous, co-workers can be open and honest about areas they would not normally feel comfortable addressing otherwise. The 360-feedbacks are designed to be used as an appraisals tool to measures an employee’s performance. As a development tool, it can help employees recognize strengths and weaknesses and develop a plan of action to address their shortcomings. Some disadvantages are that they provide insufficient information mainly due to the anonymous nature of the forms; the employee has no way to follow up to get clarification to comments made. The
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