Final answer:
Contrast errors in performance appraisals occur when an evaluator's judgment is influenced by comparisons among employees rather than measured against individual performance standards, leading to biased evaluations that do not accurately reflect an employee's abilities or contributions.
Step-by-step explanation:
Contrast, in the context of performance appraisal errors, refers to a type of evaluation bias where an employee's evaluation is unfairly compared against other employees rather than individual performance standards.
This can happen when an appraiser's judgment is overly influenced by comparing employees to one another, which could result in overestimating or underestimating an individual's performance.
When discussing contrast errors, it's often linked to the broader topic of effective performance appraisal systems and how organizational culture can impact the use of these systems.
Inappropriate or incorrect use of performance appraisal systems can fail to achieve the desired organizational outcomes, such as improved performance and motivation.
Furthermore, exploring how an organization's culture influences decision-making can provide insight into why certain appraisal systems are more effective than others.
Contrast errors undermine the effectiveness of performance appraisals and are an important consideration in the research of industrial psychology.
An example of this error would be if an employee's performance is deemed less adequate simply because their colleagues have achieved exceptional results, even if the employee met the required standards for their position.