the task of personnel performance evaluation or appraisal is, there are indications in the literature that a significant proportion of managers, and are either ill prepared for this task or that they are reluctant to perform the task in an effective manner (Holmes, 1993, pp. 75 78). The literature indicates that two major factors may contribute to the development of such a situation within an organization. The first factor is an absence on the part of many supervisors, managers, and administrators of an awareness of the significance to the organization of the process of personnel performance evaluation because of the perceptions and attitudes of employees toward the organizational performance appraisal process. The second factor is an inadequate knowledge on the part of managers of the procedures required for the conduct of effective personnel performance evaluations. Each of these problems is significant for organizational performance. The first of these problems will be addressed through the conduct of the proposed research.
Performance appraisal also plays a vital role in the selection of individuals for management responsibilities. The selection of individuals within organizations for leadership positions and for other forms of organizational reward is accomplished by a variety of methods, most of which depend upon the composite results of several factors(recommendations of organizational superiors, educational background, past performance, and so forth. One factor that is found in most selection procedures, however, is the performance evaluation. Thus, effective performance appraisal is one of the critical factors which contributes to the on going success of an organization.
There is evidence in the literature, however, that indicates that the employee performance appraisal process used in many American organizations is not contributing to improved performance by the employees evaluated (Cyr, 1993, pp. 18 19). One pr...