Which motive is commonly cited as a reason for inflated ratings?

• A. The desire to avoid airing the department's dirty laundry
• B. The wish to publicly criticize underperformers
• C. The goal of terminating poor performers immediately
• D. The aim to lower merit increases

Answer: (A)

The tendency to inflate ratings often stems from protecting the department’s image and avoiding negative fallout. Managers may fear that honest, harsher ratings would expose performance problems to senior leaders, boards, or the public, leading to backlash, budget cuts, or tough political consequences. By presenting a more favorable view of performance, they’re trying to prevent “airing the dirty laundry” and keep things running smoothly, including morale, resources, and continuation of programs. This explains why inflation is frequently cited as a motive.

The other ideas don’t fit as well because they require taking a harsher or more direct approach: publicly criticizing underperformers would demand honest, lower ratings; terminating poor performers immediately relies on candid assessments to justify action; lowering merit increases runs counter to inflating ratings, which aims to boost or maintain favorable outcomes.