performance appraisal

319 Pages·2014·2.37 MB·English

by  태희 김

PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL: DETERMINANTS OF PUBLIC
EMPLOYEES’ ACCEPTANCE

By
TAEHEE KIM

A Dissertation submitted to the
Graduate School-Newark
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
in partial fulfillment of the requirements
for the degree of
Doctor of Philosophy in Public Administration
Graduate Program in School of Public Affairs and Administration
written under the direction of
Professor Marc Holzer
and approved by
________________________
Marc Holzer

________________________
Frank J. Thompson

________________________
Madinah Hamidullah

________________________
Quintus Jett

________________________
Kaifeng Yang

Newark, New Jersey
May, 2014
© 2014
Taehee Kim

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Abstract

Performance appraisal is an important management tool that has two important
functions: to support administrative decisions, and support employee development
(Murphy and Cleveland 1990). This dissertation explores the view of public (non-
management level) employees in assessing their perspective on performance appraisal.
This paper assumes that once employees find the value in performance appraisal
processes, the efficacy will be enhanced and affirmed.
Given the importance of employees’ acceptance of their performance appraisal,
this dissertation will examine under which contextual circumstances employee
acceptance of performance measurement may be heightened using the data in a mixed-
methods study that includes data from the Merit Principle Protection Board Survey (2005)
merged with data from the Central Personnel Data File in 2005, New Jersey local
employee survey, and focus groups including semi-structured interviews. Using previous
theoretical frameworks, which identify three constructs namely, procedural justice,
distributional justice, and instrument validity, this dissertation will measure public
employees’ acceptance of performance appraisal.
Findings show that there is an increase of public employees’ acceptance of
performance appraisal in terms of procedural justice, distributional justice, and
instrument validity in the following conditions, when: performance appraisal is used
more for employees’ job performance improvement and capacity development to identify
areas of improvement; there is an a direct alignment between employees’ tasks and
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agency’s objectives; employees are offered an opportunity to voice their concerns or
rebut decisions; they participate in setting performance standards and goals; and there are
quality and trust-worthy relationships between supervisors as rators and employees as
ratees. Of particular illumination on the effect of demographic characteristics, such as
race, ethnicity, gender, age, and education, the findings show mixed results. However,
when the organization is diversified in terms of race/ethnicity, employee acceptance of
performance appraisal in terms of procedural justice turns out to be uniquely higher, and
partially supports the theory of relational demography. Equally important finding is the
effect of unionized workforce environment as well as the existence of rigid civil service
system might have contrasting effects on employee acceptance of performance appraisal
processes.
This study contributes to the current literature on performance appraisal by
advancing our understanding of the process, refining related theories on performance
appraisal, and capitalizing on public employees’ perceptions and perspectives.

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Acknowledgements
A dissertation is an immeasurable triumph. My PhD journey was more than
intellectual progression, it was a personal transformation. I was privileged to have so
many family members, friends, students, colleagues, professors, and great mentors and
faculty advisors who shoulder the journey with me. I offer to everyone a very humble
thank you. There are a few I wish to highlight. First, I want to thank my advisor Dr.
Marc Holzer, who provided incalculable support throughout my Ph.D journey. His great
counsel and leadership guided me through a successful dissertation project. He remains a
teacher, mentor, role-model and my American family member. I will always remember
his gift of a surprise engagement party for me and my now husband, including a beautiful
cake. As an International student of a minority group, I faced several hurdles, including
the language barrier, limited financial resources, and few social supports; but Dr. Holzer
leveled the hurdles and taught me to jump. He coached me through each step of the job
search process which resulted in a job offer from another prestigious public
administration program. It is needless to say that his research and intellectual rigor have
greatly shaped my own research and work, and will do so continuously.
I wish to thank my other dissertation committee members, Dr. Frank J. Thompson,
Dr. Quintus Jett, Dr. Madinah Hamidullah, and Dr. Kaifeng Yang for their patience,
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guidance, constructive feedback, and collegiality each of them extended to me. I am
enormously appreciative of their rigorous scholarship and hope to work with them in the
future. I owe a great debt of gratitude to Dr. Frank J. Thompson, who has been a great
mentor. His thought-provoking study questions in every class inspired my interest in
studying public administration and management. He is an exemplary teacher with
intellectual humility and enthusiasm. Dr. Quintus Jett has been a great mentor and
constant friend, who provided tremendous encouragement over the last years. The
discussions I have had with him have continuously stimulated my intellectual curiosity
and helped me find great enjoyment in doing research.
Dr. Norma Riccucci also has been an excellent mentor, who introduced me to
diversity management and gender issues; and whose enthusiasm for these issues greatly
shaped my research interests. Dr. Judy Kirchhoff has been a generous and caring mentor,
and a friend. Her wisdom and knowledge combined with her kindly manner and humility
are truly inspiring. I would like to thank Dr. Jeffrey Backstrand for his steady support and
friendship. My special thanks to Dr. Peter Hoontis, who has been my dear friend,
colleague, family, and mentor. His enthusiasm for research and expertise derived from
his life-time dedication to the public service had great influence on my research. It was
with him I first published a peer-reviewed journal article on public performance
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management. It was also through him I learned to be open to diverse ideas. I also would
like to thank Charles Gillon and Dr. Bokyo Jonathan Jeong, without your support I could
not obtain the essential information and data to support my research.
I could not imagine my life at SPAA without my colleagues, Soojin, Mirae,
Jungah (Claire), Dongyoen, Yunsoo, Rusi, Felix, Yuguo, Jonathan, Shuyang, Shugo,
Anna, Kevin, Alex, Lauren, Karina, Ashley, Josie, Tugba, Sunjoo, and Jongmin. They
made my life at SPAA enjoyable and memorable. A special thanks to Soojin, for your
steadfast friendship, always with a smile, an ear, a hug or a single work. Thank you, my
little sister, Mirae, your diligence, excellent research, and sunny personality made me
smile and move forward. Thank you, my ‘eagle five’ brothers and sister, Jungah (Claire),
Dongyoen, and Yunsoo, for the kind friendship and warm support you gave me over the
last years. Rusi, I am and will forever be indebted to you and will call you friend, always.
My special thanks to Felix who gave me tremendous support and enduring friendship. I
will never forget the glorious times we had together. Thank you, Yuguo, for being a
wonderful mentor and friend to me. I would like to thank Gail and Madelene for resolute
commitment over my years at SPAA. I would like to thank Josie for your encouragement
and beautiful humor that give me courage to move forward. My words of thanks seem so
tiny in comparison to what you all gave me as individuals and as a whole.
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In addition, I would like to express the deepest appreciation to my previous
advisor, Dr. Yongmo Lee who encouraged me to pursue a doctoral degree, and was my
champion over the past seven years. His staunch support and encouragement has made
me stronger as a teacher and academician. I also would like to thank Dr. Seok-Hwan Lee,
Dr. Hwangsun Kang, and Dr. Taeho Eom for their invaluable wisdom, knowledge, and
guidance was instrumental in my academic achievements and personal development.
My special thanks go to Dr. Jongwon Cheong, Minhee Sung and my god daughter,
Sunyoung for being my family members and giving me love and encouragement. My
very special thanks go to my ‘Do-mok’ friends back in Korea who have been extremely
kind in helping me overcome home-sickness. Also, I would like to thank my friends at
church who gave me spiritual support.
In closing, I would like to thank my parents, my sister, and especially my other
half, Ikmo An, to whom I owe everything. Ikmo you are my life, my support and my big
love. I dedicate my dissertation to my family, my late grandmother, my husband, and my
advisor.

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Table of Contents
Abstract ............................................................................................................................... ii
Acknowledgements ............................................................................................................ iv
List of Tables ..................................................................................................................... xi
List of Figures .................................................................................................................. xiii

CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................ 1
Background ..................................................................................................................... 1
Purpose of Study ............................................................................................................. 5
Organization of the Dissertation ..................................................................................... 6

CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW ............................................................................. 8
Overview ......................................................................................................................... 8
History of Performance Appraisal ................................................................................ 11
Summary ....................................................................................................................... 19
Performance Appraisal in Theory vs. Practice ............................................................. 21
Introduction ............................................................................................................... 21
Performance Appraisal in Theory: Expected Benefits .............................................. 24
Performance Appraisal in Practice ............................................................................ 29

CHAPTER 3 EMPLOYEES’ ACCEPTANCE ................................................................ 42
OF PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL ................................................................................ 42
Concept and Importance of Employees’ Acceptance of Performance Appraisal ......... 42
Measuring Employees’ Acceptability of the Performance Appraisal ........................... 49
Chapter Summary ......................................................................................................... 62

CHAPTER 4 FOSTERING EMPLOYEES’ ACCEPTANCE ......................................... 65
Theories and Hypothesis Development ........................................................................ 65
Fostering Employee Acceptance: Structural Proximal Variable .................................. 67
Purpose of Appraisal: Evaluation vs. Development ................................................. 67
Fostering Employees’ Acceptance: Process Proximal Variable ................................... 72
Relational Exchange: Relationship Quality between Supervisors and Employees .. 72
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Participation in the Appraisal Process: Participation in Performance Standard/Goal
Setting ....................................................................................................................... 77
Fostering Employee Acceptance: Distal Variables ....................................................... 81
Employee Perceptions of Empowerment Culture ..................................................... 81
Interaction between Empowerment and the Relationship Quality between
Supervisors and Employees ...................................................................................... 85
Perceived Goal Alignment ........................................................................................ 87
Work Composition: Race/Gender and Union Membership ...................................... 90

CHAPTER 5 RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS .................................................. 98
Introduction ................................................................................................................... 98
Research Design: Mixed Methods Research ................................................................ 99
Sampling and Data Collection .................................................................................... 103
Quantitative Data Collection and Analysis ............................................................. 103
Federal Employee Views on Performance Appraisal ............................................. 103
Advantages and Disadvantages of Using the Secondary Data ............................... 105
Local Employee Views on Performance Appraisal: New Jersey Municipal Clerk
Survey ..................................................................................................................... 106
Qualitative Study Design ............................................................................................ 108

CHAPTER 6 QUANTITATIVE DATA ANALYSIS AND RESULTS: FEDERAL
EMPLOYEES ................................................................................................................. 111
Research Variables and Measurement ........................................................................ 111
Federal Employees Study ....................................................................................... 111
Dependent Variables: Employees’ Acceptance of Performance Appraisal ............ 113
Independent Variables ............................................................................................ 123
Control variables ..................................................................................................... 128
Statistical procedures .................................................................................................. 129
Conclusion .................................................................................................................. 174

CHAPTER 7 LOCAL EMPLOYEES’ VIEW ON PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL ... 179
Introduction ................................................................................................................. 179
Preliminary Results ..................................................................................................... 180
Research Variables and Measurements ...................................................................... 187
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