This article examines the correlates of perceived effective performance ap praisal systems with special emphasis on the role of perceived rater and ratee acceptance. The sample consists of 240 municipal government performance appraisal systems and is the first attempt to test the relationships using a large sample. This study is congruent with recent research that emphasizes the importance of process variables over technique and instrumentation. The results indicate that perceived rater and ratee performance appraisal system acceptance explains the greatest amount of the variance in perceived appraisal system effectiveness.
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