An Examination of the Mbo/Performance Standards Approach To Employee Evaluation: Attitudes Toward Performance Appraisal in Iowa

Abstract

The MBO/performance standards approach to employee evaluation may well represent the state-of-the-art. Employee attitudes regarding performance appraisals are crucial to the ultimate success of any system; this is especially true in regard to those which are drawn from humanistic management as the MBO/ performance standards approach is. This paper reports the findings from an attitudinal survey of Iowa public employees conducted in the Spring of 1983. In general, the M BO / performance standards approach is given favorable marks. It is, more or less, perceived as receiving organizational commitment, as being fair, as providing adequate feedback, and as being helpful to the employee. The performance appraisal system is also viewed as being positively linked to the perception of rewarding performance and job satisfaction.