Police Sergeant Practice Exam

A supervisor who favors employees that do not challenge the status quo is likely engaging in which rating error?

1. The error of bias

2. The error of leniency

3. The error of severity

4. The error of central tendency

The correct answer is: The error of leniency

Engaging in favoritism towards employees who do not challenge the status quo suggests that the supervisor is exhibiting a tendency to rate those individuals more favorably, often at the expense of others who may perform equally well or even better but do not adhere to conformity. This denotes the error of leniency, where a supervisor provides consistently high ratings to a subset of employees, potentially overlooking or underrepresenting the contributions of those who offer valuable input or dissent. In a workplace context, recognizing that challenging established norms can lead to innovation and improvement is essential. When a supervisor fails to appreciate this and instead favors conformity, they may unintentionally promote mediocrity at the expense of fostering a healthy, dynamic work environment. Leaning towards leniency can hinder organizational growth and create an imbalance in performance evaluations, which is why it is considered a significant rating error.