Performance Appraisal in the Changing World of Work

Performance appraisal in the changing world of work: implications for the meaning and measurement of work performance

Canadian Psychology, Feb-May 1998 by Sulsky, Lorne M, Keown, Janine L

Abstract

We critically evaluate performance appraisal research by highlighting how research has traditionally focussed upon the measurement, rather than the meaning of work performance. We propose that maximizing performance appraisal effectiveness requires that we carefully examine the meaning of performance. Next, we consider current trends in appraisal research which have closely followed recent changes in the structure and process of work. The implications of this research for increasing our understanding of the meaning of work performance is considered.

In the past decade, we have witnessed a number of profound changes in the workplace which, collectively, have tremendous implications for how individual work performance is assessed. Specifically, with the continuing trends of downsizing, mergers, and decentralization, new performance appraisal practices and research topics have emerged (e.g., 360-degree feedback; electronic performance monitoring).

In this paper, we critically examine the "state of the art" in performance appraisal research. Our central thesis is that some of the most current research on the evaluation of individual level performance continues to emphasize ways of measuring performance without sufficiently concentrating upon the meaning of performance. We will argue that our continuing failure to grapple with the "criterion problem" -- the problem of properly defining what is meant by performance -- creates a boundary condition on the utility of this research for the practice of performance appraisal (cf. Austin & Villanova, 1992). In short, we believe that attempting to define performance is a critical precondition for effective performance measurement. Although this might seem obvious and straightforward, we shall soon see that this precondition...