Jan Stevenson, a sales representative at a medical systems company, just received her performance appraisal from her boss, Linda
Jones. Although Jan has been mostly a marginal to average performer, Linda gave Jan excellent ratings. This is an example of what type of rating error? (a) Severity
(b) Central tendency
(c) Halo Error
(d) Leniency
Based on the information provided within the question it can be said that this scenario is an example of leniency. This is a rater's bias in which a rater gives an individual a rating that may be a little too positive based on the factors that they need to be taking into account when rating. Such as is the case in this scenario since Linda gave Jan excellent ratings even though her performance is average at best.
Leniency refers to the treat an individual may receive by which punishment or judgment is given not as severe as the individual expected. In business, the term refers to the reduction of penalties applied to certain corporations that contribute to antitrust authorities in cartel investigations.
In such a case, <em>Jan has been benefited with leniency because even if she has been underperforming at work, her appraisal included optimal ratings.</em>
