Does Research in Performance Appraisal Influence the Practice of Performance Appraisal? Regretfully Not!

Abstract

Thousands of studies of performance appraisal (PA)exist in both the academic and practitioner literatures. The intended purpose of many of these works is to somehow link PA to performance; i.e., to utilize the process as a performance-enhancing instrument. Employee perceptions of PA are vital to the acceptance of PA validity, and must be examined prior to any further extension of the process; yet few studies have shown credence to this premise. This paper examines employee perceptions and their implicit consequences, following such aspects of PA as perceived accuracy, feedback, participation, rater training, rewards, and others. The working market's utilization of many proven PA components is dismal; we discuss rater training and diary-keeping as two plausible factors for improving PA accuracy, fairness, and the perceptions of same. Further, we suggest that practitioners must fully sponsor the results of the vast PA research efforts to improve the process as a prerequisite to improving performance.

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