Dear members,
We cannot expect all the sources for PA to fit perfectly - our management science is not an accurate science, and people are not always predictable, in particular they use different criteria, explicitly or implicitly. One way to overcome discrepancies in comparing different sources of PA is to generate a benchmark. In my 1996 paper I studied PA for 846 individuals in 41 organizations that applied a variety of PA grading systems. I asked these two questions (rather than asking for a general self PA):
(1) The average of your last two performance appraisal scores is (use routine scheduled performance appraisals, general scores):
on a scale 0-100: [ ] [ ] [ ] if the scale is different, please write the score in words, for example "4 out of 7".
(2) What do you think your performance appraisal score should have been in your own estimation?
on scale of 0-100: [ ] [ ] [ ]
The correlation was very high (.73) - one reason is that the manager's PA 'score' provided certain benchmark for each person.
A third question yield much poorer level of fit - that was: How would you rate your performance and contribution to the organization in comparison to other employees in the organization with similar positions?
The full reference:
Baruch, Y. (1996) Self performance appraisal vs. direct manager appraisal - a case of congruency. Journal of Managerial Psychology, 11(6), 50-65.
I'll be happy to send the full paper to interested members.
Yours
Yehuda
Professor Yehuda Baruch
Editor, Group & Organization Management
Norwich Business School, UEA, UK
Tel -44-1603-593341
Fax -44-1603-593343