the process of personnel performance evaluation. The second factors is an inadequate knowledge on the part of supervisors, managers, and administrators of the procedures required for the conduct of effective personnel performance evaluations. Each of these problems is significant for organizational performance.
The problem confronting contemporary American organizations, however, is not simply a matter of ineffectual performance evaluators at the managerial level. In the mid 1990s, a strong trend toward team based organization is present in the American manufacturing sector (Filiczak, 1994, pp. 42 47). Team based organization creates additional problems related to performance evaluation. First, team members tend to be removed from traditional supervisors; a situation wherein rendering a valid performance evaluation on a team member by a traditional supervisor becomes increasingly difficult and problematic. Second, teams tend to work on a quasi independent basis within the organization. This characteristic of team based organization implies that team members are in the best position to evaluate the performance of other members of a team. Team members, however, tend to have had little experience in the performance evaluation process and even less formal training related to the process. Thus, team members, while in the best position to render performance evaluations on fellow team members, are likely to also be the least prepared for such a responsibility.
Two research questions will be investigated in this study. These research questions are as follows:
1. Is the validity of performance evaluations adversely affected by team based organization?
2. Has the change in the validity of performance evaluations had an impact on the motivation to perform of team members?
Hypotheses will be tested in relation to each of the research questions. These hypotheses are as follows:
1. Performance evaluation validity is ...