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Hannah Cox
ENC 1102 B001
Professor Wolcott
7/23/14
The Performance Appraisal-Issues Behind It
Introduction
The performance appraisal is a process in which an executive-or someone who oversees
the employees, evaluates subordinates-the employees the executive oversees, on their skills and
work habits in order to help improve the worker and the company and offer potential for
promotions or in worst cases, firing. Business Dictionary explains a performance appraisal (PA)
to be: The process by which a manager or consultant (1) examines and evaluates an employee's
work behavior by comparing it with preset standards, (2) documents the results of the
comparison, and (3) uses the results to provide feedback to the employee to show where
improvements are needed and why.* (Business Dictionary) Even though performance
appraisals are meant to provide accurate feedback to employees for their work performance and
let them know what to improve on in order to continue to be successful, that is not a common
result. Business Dictionary mentions that: Performance appraisals are employed to determine
who needs what training, and who will be promoted, demoted, retained, or fired.* (Business
Dictionary) These performance appraisals are an extremely hot and controversial topic among
the business discourse community. Conversation and research as to why/how they work, the
effect on the employee, and what effect they have on the organization, is continuing to grow.
Participants
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It is important for readers to understand that these PA s and their results do not extend
past the discourse community, and even more defined, the subordinate and the company, in order
to understand how bias can occur and not be identified by legalities. It is not legal for other
people or organizations to have access to employee records. Only the company and the employee
are allowed to access these confidential documents. The only exception to that standard would be
if the employee was applying for another job, then another company could have access to their
results. This is why it is so simple for bias to be an issue. People outside of the organization are
not invited to read or make judgment without specific permission, so, nobody is there to
recognize the trends and issues and identify them and request change. This makes it extremely
easy for bias to occur and for it to go by without notice or disapproval.
Issues with the Performance Appraisal System
The most relevant issue among the studies conducted was the bias behind the PA system.
Specific studies found that many employees found their dissatisfaction in the system to be linked
to executive bias. One study (Dusterhoff Carrie, et. al. 2014) found that employees felt an overall
dissatisfaction with the PA because of the unethical behavior behind them. Another issue studied
was the effect of the PA results on the employees morale and performance. A study (Conant,
James. 1973.) found that the interview preformed to share the employees results fails in an
employees measurement of success. It often lowers the morale and performance of a good
employee, instead of boosting it. Understanding is also an issue with the PA. Employees were
interviewed in a study (Landy, Frank. Et. al. 1978.) Where factors such as; frequency of
evaluation, identification of goals to eliminate weaknesses, and supervisor knowledge of a
subordinate's level of performance and job duties were discussed with the subordinates in an
interview. It was found that a majority of the employees did not agree with, or understand, any of
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these factors. Not only is it common to not understand the factors included when executives
conduct PAs, but also the results. This is due to the interview setting and the overall complexity
of the PA process. One study (Barry, Nathan. Et. Al. 1990) actually discussed this issue with
subordinates and found that subordinate reactions to the review were affected by interpersonal
relations and by three measures of review content: the evaluation criteria used, the opportunity
for subordinate participation, and the presence of career discussion.
Why bias occurs
Although it is clear that bias, or favoritism, is the most common issue, much research has
been done to understand exactly why. Bias is linked to the executive liking or satisfaction with
certain employees over others. When the PA begins, the employee is known to expect honesty
(Jacobs, Gabriele. Et.al. 2014) and it represents a symbolic situation in which the subordinate is
testing the trustworthiness of both the executive and the organization towards them. Honesty can
simply mean the executive providing fair and honest results and scores that only relate to the
subordinates performance and skills, not the relationship between the subordinate and executive.
When an executive preforms the PA, one can understand how favoritism plays a part. Involving
emotions is a common occurrence when making judgments about people, no matter what the
situation. Because the executives directly in charge of these subordinates are the ones who
perform the PA, this emotion shows. They develop relationships with the employees over time
and consider these relationships when giving ratings. It is proven with the results of these
studies, where employees voice the outcomes of their companies PAs. If someone has a good
relationship with the executive, their results will be better than those that do not, no matter if
they are actually better employees or not.
Approval
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There was not a consensus among any article stating that the employees approved of the
current way the PA is handled or executed. However, in many of the studies employees mention
that the process is approved by them, but the bias included is what causes their disapproval. It is
not the PA itself or the way that it works that makes employees despise this so much, but, the
bias within the system. Employees feel that as long as the study is accurate and honest, then it is
acceptable. The system works, if executed correctly and ethically. But when that does not occur,
the undesired results appear.
Research Gap
The studies conducted by people within the discourse community of the human resource
department in business, all generally discuss why the PA system is bad or why the employees do
not approve. They include every possible angle and why it happens in addition to multiple other
factors. However, it was rare for me to find any articles that provided an alternative, or some
critiques. With only one type/process of PA currently being used, it does not leave much of a
choice for executives to choose something that might be more ethically acceptable with
employees. New research needs to be conducted to find alternatives or fixes to the uprising and
steady issue of unethical PAs. These new processes need to be favored by employees and
companies and proved to be ethical, if used properly.




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Project Proposal
In order to test and figure out new ways to preform or re-vamp these PAs and the
executives, I will first conduct surveys on current subordinates and executives to get their
opinion on what can be done. After I receive some feedback, I will need to conduct research. I
will have to develop the new process or include the improvements to the existing one, and I will
test multiple options. I will tell executives to use each of these methods when conducting their
PA. I will use two new options and the original PA system. Included with one of the new
processes I will not require a meeting between the subordinate and the executive to discuss the
results, unless the subordinate requests it. As stated in my lit review, many employees feel
uncomfortable during this process or that it is a waste of time. Additionally, normal PA
evaluations are supposed to occur about every six months. For time sake, I will make the
executives review each subordinate every six weeks. I will use representation from a variety of
organizations and a wide variety of employees ranging from no degree to a Ph.D. and first year
in the field to their fortieth year. This will produce accurate results that represent the entire
workforce in the U.S. There will be an equal amount of men and women represented, however. I
will then bring the subordinates who have been evaluated and given their results into a meeting,
where I will then ask them a series of open-ended questions about their opinions on each
different approach. The questions will include subjects such as; how fair did you feel this review
was, was the meeting that discussed the results a comfortable meeting, do your results correctly
represent your work, etc. Of course, some companies and employees will not want to partake in
this study so I will inevitably have to change around companies and employee demographics
often until I find a reliable group. This is how I will find a well-liked alternative that works the
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best for everyone. Companies do not have to use this alternative, but it is a step in solving the
issues of the current unethical PAs.

















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Works Cited
Conant, James C. "THE PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL: A Critique And An Alternative."
Business Horizons 16.3 (1973): 73. Business Source Premier. Web. 14 July 2014.
Dusterhoff, Carrie, J. Cunningham, and James MacGregor. "The Effects Of Performance Rating,
Leader-Member Exchange, Perceived Utility, And Organizational Justice On
Performance Appraisal Satisfaction: Applying A Moral Judgment Perspective." Journal
Of Business Ethics 119.2 (2014): 265-273. Business Source Premier. Web. 17 July 2014.
Jacobs, Gabriele1, gjacobs@rsm.nl, Frank2, f.d.belschak@uva.nl Belschak, and Deanne2,
d.n.denhartog@uva.nl Hartog. "(Un)Ethical Behavior And Performance Appraisal: The
Role Of Affect, Support, And Organizational Justice." Journal Of Business Ethics 121.1
(2014): 63-76. Business Abstracts with Full Text (H.W. Wilson). Web. 17 July 2014.
Landy, Frank J., Janet L. Barnes, and Kevin R. Murphy. "Correlates Of Perceived Fairness And
Accuracy Of Performance Evaluation." Journal Of Applied Psychology 63.6 (1978): 751-
754. Business Source Premier. Web. 18 July 2014.
Nathan, Barry R., Allan M. Mohrman Jr., and John Milliman. "Interpersonal Relations As A
Context For The Effects Of Appraisal Interviews On Performance And Satisfaction: A
Longitudinal Study." Academy Of Management Journal 34.2 (1991): 352-369. Business
Source Premier. Web. 18 July 2014.
*"What Is Performance Appraisal? Definition and Meaning." BusinessDictionary.com. N.p., n.d.
Web. 18 July 2014.

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