Course Learning Outcomes for Unit VII. Research Paper

research best practices for 360-degree feedback and how leaders/organizations implement it
Course Learning Outcomes for Unit VII
Upon completion of this unit, students should be able to:
4. Evaluate how leaders use 360-degree feedback to improve their work performances.
4.1 Explain 360-degree feedback best practices.
4.2 Identify ways organizations use 360-degree feedback.
7. Analyze how leaders foster employee motivation and morale in an ever-changing workforce.
7.1 Examine ways that feedback can be used to increase employee motivation and morale.
Course/Unit Learning Outcomes Learning Activity
4 Unit Lesson
All Required Reading: Unit VII Research Paper
4.1 Unit Lesson
All Required Reading: Unit VII Research Paper
4.2 Unit Lesson
All Required Reading Unit VII Research Paper
7 Unit Lesson Required Reading:
• The "New" Performance Management Paradigm: Capitalizing on the Unrealized Potential of 360 Degree Feedback.Unit VII Research Paper
7.1 Unit Lesson Required Reading:
• The "New" Performance Management Paradigm: Capitalizing on the Unrealized Potential of 360 Degree Feedback.Unit VII Research Paper
Reading Assignment
In order to access the following resources, click the links below:
Bracken, D. W., & Church, A. H. (2013). The "new" performance management paradigm: Capitalizing on the unrealized potential of 360 degree feedback. People and Strategy, 36(2), 34–40. Retrieved from https://libraryresources.columbiasouthern.edu/login?auth=CAS&url=http://search.ebscohost.com/logi n.aspx?direct=true&db=bth&AN=90060977&site=ehost-live&scope=site
Facteau, C. L., & Facteau, J. D. (1998). Reactions of leaders to 360-degree feedback from subordinates and peers. Leadership Quarterly, 9(4), 427–448. Retrieved from https://libraryresources.columbiasouthern.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direc t=true&db=bth&AN=1312946&site=ehost-live&scope=site 
Frangos, C. (2015). How Cisco gets brutally honest feedback to top leaders. Harvard Business Review Digital Articles, 2–5. Retrieved from https://libraryresources.columbiasouthern.edu/login?auth=CAS&url=http://search.ebscohost.com/logi n.aspx?direct=true&db=bth&AN=118685667&site=ehost-live&scope=site
Tornow, W. W., & London, M. (1998). 360-degree feedback: The leadership challenges. Leadership in Action, 18(1), 1–13. Retrieved from https://libraryresources.columbiasouthern.edu/login?auth=CAS&url=http://search.ebscohost.com/logi n.aspx?direct=true&db=bth&AN=18976724&site=ehost-live&scope=site
Unit Lesson
You are the manager of your department. How do you provide feedback to your employees? Do you simply give a performance evaluation annually? Do you feel that is enough? What happens if you notice that one of your employees is struggling with customer service? You want to help that employee improve, but, in this case, a traditional performance evaluation may not be helpful. So, what do you do now?
In this unit, we will look at the power of 360-degree feedback. What is 360-degree feedback? According to Custom Insight (n.d.), 360-degree feedback is a full circle of feedback about an employee that the leader or manager receives from subordinates, peers, suppliers, and other business agencies. The feedback is provided in both a qualitative and quantitative rating scale (Custom Insight, n.d.). The purpose of any type of feedback is to improve behavior by highlighting both the strengths and weaknesses that need adjustment. As with any feedback, it is the receiver of this information (the employee) who has to make the adjustment. This requires knowing one’s self and putting a set of processes in place to make improvements where needed as well as continuing to foster good relations that already exist.
The graphic below shows the concept of 360-degree feedback:
The graphic depicts 360-degree feedback.
(Adapted from Bracken & Church, 2013)
The process of developing effective 360-degree feedback involves several key steps. London and Beatty (1993) highlighted three major steps in providing 360-degree feedback:
• Communicate the purpose. What is going right, and what needs improvement?
• Develop the content and format of the survey. What is being measured? Measurements must reflect leadership performance, interaction with others, communication, problem solving, team abilities, and more.
• Produce a report that highlights the metric measurements with scores and qualitative information that allows the leader to review and make improvements where needed.
We know that typical leader-to-employee feedback is a powerful tool that is used to reinforce or correct behavior, but 360-degree feedback is a type of full-circle feedback that is provided to an employee’s leader or manager. In the article “How Cisco Gets Brutally Honest Feedback to Top Leaders,” Frangos (2015) outlines the executive 360-feedback assessment that identifies, measures, and profiles the strengths, goals, areas for improvement, and best ways to leverage these aspects.
Cisco Systems Example
Cisco Systems is a technology company that produces routers, Internet servers, and Internet security systems. Their mission and objective are to obtain 360-degree feedback on their products from their customers.
According to Frangos (2015), Cisco’s 360-degree feedback is organized into two main parts. First, there is the quantitative evaluation, as discussed above, from London and Beatty (1993). Measurement areas are scored on a rating scale where a low score indicates that immediate action is required for improvement, and a high score indicates that little to no action is required but, instead, a maintaining posture is initiated. The scores and topical areas are based on industry standard measurements. The second part is qualitative. Frangos (2015) noted that the qualitative segment provides written, in-depth comments from peers, supervisors, and suppliers based on the same measurement areas above. More detail is expected in the qualitative measurement, which provides more exact feedback to the leader.
The review is conducted every 18 months and provides the leader with modified strength, weakness, opportunity, and improvement areas. As Frangos (2015) noted, the 360-degree process is brutally honest and transparent as it provides five major benefits to the company and individuals. This process is executed by exposing liabilities that the leader has, by improving executive readiness, by accessing how leaders work in groups and team environments, and by allowing the board of directors to review scores and make recommendations with follow-on positions that will grow the company.
The graphic below shows what this process of implementing 360-degree feedback may look like:
The graphic depicts how 360-degree feedback may be implemented.
Feedback Measurements
The link provided below displays an example of measurement areas in a 360-degree feedback survey. Note: Not every survey is the same, but the survey is divided into categories: middle- to upper-level management, organizational leader, and non-manager. The following resource is optional.
Custom Insight. (n.d.). Sample 360 degree feedback surveys. Retrieved from http://www.custominsight.com/360-degree-feedback/sample-360-feedback-surveys.asp
How does 360-degree feedback tie into employee motivation? First, take the time to review the optional link above, and look at the measured areas for the leader. They are quite detailed and focused both on mission 
and people. The answer is simple; improve the quality of interaction with superiors, customers, and suppliers so that the corporate mission, objectives, and goals can be attained. If goals are being met, and the mission is accomplished, the company is growing. If the quality of life for workers on the job improves and if leadership is more open and has empathy, then this transitions to goals being met.
The chart below, for example, demonstrates feedback that might be given to an employee on motivation and morale:
Criteria: Character Score (1-5)
1. Understands own strengths and opportunities for improvement
2. Seeks out feedback
3. Avoids negativity and hidden agendas 4. Supports organization’s mission and vision
5. Shows professionalism in interactions with colleagues and clients
Putting It All Together
Take a look at the career options that Cisco provides by clicking the link provided below. The resource is optional.
Cisco. (n.d.). Careers home. Retrieved from http://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/about/careers.html
From the careers link, you can see the organization’s mission statement, which focuses on people, processes, and innovation (Cisco, n.d.). Cisco states that they aim to make a positive difference in the world.
The key takeaway from this statement is twofold—(1) promoting employee and customer connections and (2) making meaningful improvements in product development that deliver customer satisfaction. Hence, we see the underlying foundation of 360-degree feedback as outlined by Frangos (2015) come to fruition on the company’s website. Adding value is what Cisco and other companies strive to accomplish. Superior leadership influences and creates synergies that allow the business to expand and make a difference in society’s needs.
You have to know where you are going in order to get there. Hence, your vision is the end statement of your organization. Where do you want the products to be in five years? In five years, where do we want Leader A to be? How do we get this person to this point? What training, assignments, and experiences do we need to give him or her? Finally, the underlying component here is 360-degree feedback. The feedback is full spectrum as you have seen from the diagrams in the lesson. With 360-degree feedback, leaders are able to digest, access, and take action to make improvements to meet individual needs as well as corporate objectives.
Look at yourself in this process. What is your vision after you complete all of your course work? Next, you have to put a plan together to attain this vision. This plan will contain your mission statement (i.e., how you will do it). You may find that in order to be competitive to meet mission goals and objectives, you might have to earn certificates that are specialized for the job. You might have to improve on any weak areas. You might have to get more involved with your community and take on a leadership position in a club, for example. The criteria will be different for everyone. The main point is that you need to personally access where you are now, where you need to go, and what you need to do to get there. All along the way, you need to request feedback from people you work with on where you need to improve.
 
References
Bracken, D. W., & Church, A. H. (2013). The "new" performance management paradigm: Capitalizing on the unrealized potential of 360 degree feedback. People and Strategy, 36(2), 34–40. Retrieved from https://libraryresources.columbiasouthern.edu/login?auth=CAS&url=http://search.ebscohost.com/logi n.aspx?direct=true&db=bth&AN=90060977&site=ehost-live&scope=site
Cisco. (n.d.). Careers home. Retrieved from http://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/about/careers.html
Custom Insight. (n.d.). What is 360 degree feedback? Retrieved from http://www.custominsight.com/360- degree-feedback/what-is-360-degree-feedback.asp
Frangos, C. (2015). How Cisco gets brutally honest feedback to top leaders. Harvard Business Review Digital Articles, 2–5. Retrieved from https://libraryresources.columbiasouthern.edu/login?auth=CAS&url=http://search.ebscohost.com/logi n.aspx?direct=true&db=bth&AN=118685667&site=ehost-live&scope=site
London, M., & Beatty, R. W. (1993). 360-degree feedback as a competitive advantage. Human Resource Management, 32(2/3), 353–372. Retrieved from https://libraryresources.columbiasouthern.edu/login?auth=CAS&url=http://search.ebscohost.com/logi n.aspx?direct=true&db=bth&AN=7223235&site=ehost-live&scope=site
Suggested Reading
In order to access the following resources, click the links below:
The following resource, which is referenced in the Unit VII Lesson, includes a detailed description of 360- degree feedback and how it can be used.
Custom Insight. (n.d.). What is 360 degree feedback? Retrieved from http://www.custominsight.com/360- degree-feedback/what-is-360-degree-feedback.asp
The following article explains the benefits of leadership transparency and two-way feedback. Benefits include confidence and a better understanding of self.
Jupp, C. (2016). In my opinion: Feedback has two-way advantages. Mortgage Strategy (Online Edition), 7.Retrieved from https://libraryresources.columbiasouthern.edu/login?auth=CAS&url=http://search.ebscohost.com/logi n.aspx?direct=true&db=bth&AN=118894913&site=ehost-live&scope=site
This final resource includes the ways feedback can be used to increase one’s role within an organization.
Latson, A. (2014). The real impact of leadership. Canadian Manager, 39(3), 23–24. Retrieved from https://libraryresources.columbiasouthern.edu/login?auth=CAS&url=http://search.ebscohost.com/logi n.aspx?direct=true&db=bth&AN=102775981&site=ehost-live&scope=site